EMT Exam For Dummies with Online Practice
Overview
Test-taking strategies and steps to succeed as an EMT
No two EMT exam experiences are exactly alike, as questions are tailored to the test-taker and range in topics from handling medical emergencies and patient assessment, to medical ethics, ambulance operations, and pediatrics. EMT Exam For Dummies takes the intimidation out of the test, offering everything you need to prepare for—and pass—the exam. Along with the book, there is also an online companion website that features two additional practice tests that you do your best on test day.
Career opportunities are abundant for certified EMTs, and this straightforward guide increases your chances of scoring higher on the computer-adaptive and practical portions of the exam so you can get out in the field and dispense lifesaving medical care. In the book, you'll find an overview
of the EMT Exam, including test organization and how the exam is scored, content review with practice questions, a sneak peek at the practical exam, and one full-length practice test with detailed answer explanations.
- Includes sample test questions and detailed answers throughout, as well as a sneak peek into the practical test
- Gives you two bonus practice exams via the companion online test bank, with tests available in timed and untimed formats
- Offers clear test-taking advice for passing the crucial, practical part of the exam
- Covers the psychomotor component of the EMT Exam
EMT Exam For Dummies has everything you need to succeed as an EMT and continue your training, and with an easy-to-read style and focus on the most important details, you'll be ready to pass the exam in no time!
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About The Author
Art Hsieh, MA, NREMT-P is a highly experienced paramedic, clinician, and educator, helping hundreds of students prepare for and pass the national examination process. He is the director of a collegiate paramedic academy and editorial advisor of EMS1.com.
Sample Chapters
emt exam for dummies with online practice
CHEAT SHEET
This Cheat Sheet is a quick summary of facts you should know about becoming a certified emergency medical technician (EMT), including certification steps, computer adaptive testing, and exam preparation.Getting and maintaining an EMT certificationThe requirements for becoming a certified emergency medical technician (EMT) vary from state to state.
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EMT Exam
One responsibility that you have as an emergency medical technician (EMT) is to document your assessment and management of the patient. Such documentation can take time to complete if you write out everything that you found and performed. Medical abbreviations can help speed up the process.
You can use literally dozens of abbreviations; here are ten (or so) that are commonly used when documenting your assessment and care, plus a few symbols that you can use as shorthand for common words.
The EMT exam evaluates your ability to assess patients quickly and formulate a treatment plan even if you don’t have all the information yet. You can adopt certain assessment approaches that can rapidly identify signs that identify life-threatening situations or serious medical conditions.
Look at the Whole Patient
As an EMT student, it’s easy to get hung up on one finding.
As much as the EMT exam is focused on your knowledge base and decision-making ability, much of the practice of the EMT is a hands-on experience. You touch patients, either with your hands or with a piece of equipment.
Practice, practice, practice
There’s a short saying that reflects the importance of practicing your skills: “Train as you work; work as you trained.
EMT Exam
Familiarize yourself with the cardiovascular system for the EMT exam. The cardiovascular system is broken down into three broad areas: the heart, the vasculature, and the blood. They interact closely to be able to create enough pressure in the system to produce perfusion (more commonly known as circulation).
The heart is the sophisticated pump that powers the cardiovascular system.
EMT Exam
You need to review several organ systems for the EMT exam. Each is comprised of a series of organs and structures, which in turn has a unique series of functions. As an EMT, you should be knowledgeable about a few structures. Here’s an overview of each system. You may want to take a moment to review them now.
EMT Exam
In a sense, the respiratory system serves a very simple purpose: to bring oxygen in and get carbon dioxide out. The EMT exam will expect you to be familiar with the workings of the respiratory system. However simple it seems, the task is much more complex than that and requires a sophisticated set of structures:
The upper airway consists of the nares (nostrils), mouth, nasopharynx, pharynx, and larynx.
EMT Exam
There are several major anatomical differences between children and adults that can affect your assessment and treatment on the EMT exam and in a real situation. These differences are more pronounced in younger children (infant through preschool age); they begin to disappear as the children age into school age and adolescence.
Before you decide to study for and take the EMT exam, you should decide if you are fit for the job. Lifting and moving patients can be difficult. Unconscious patients are literally dead weight that is difficult to control. Injured patients may need to be immobilized to a long backboard and carried down several flights of stairs.
EMT Exam
Make sure you know all about cardiovascular fluid problems for the EMT exam. If there isn't enough blood inside the vasculature for the heart to pump, perfusion is affected. Here are some common conditions related to blood volume.
Problem
Signs and Symptoms
Action Steps
Dehydration
Loss of water from the blood; causes include excessive physical
activity, decrease in oral intake, diarrhea, vomiting, long periods
of fever (sweating), and hot environmental temperatures.
EMT Exam
Study up on cardiovascular pipe problems for the EMT exam. The body’s vasculature can develop leaks that cause fluid to leave the system quickly. On occasion, part of the vasculature can weaken, potentially causing massive failure. Check out these common vasculature conditions.
Problem
Signs and Symptoms
Action Steps
Aortic aneurysm/dissection
A weakening in the aorta’s wall causing it to bulge out
(aneurysm) or tear (dissection) resulting in loss of pressure and
bleeding.
EMT Exam
You should be familiar with cardiovascular pump problems for the EMT exam. In order to work effectively, the heart has to have good blood flow to its muscle via its coronary arteries and an intact electrical system that controls the rate, strength, and timing of the contractions between the atria and ventricles.
EMT Exam
The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) began using computer adaptive testing (CAT) in January 2007. Prior to then, NREMT exams were paper based; an NREMT representative had to administer the test to a group of candidates. Answers were recorded by test-takers onto Scantron forms, which were collected by the NREMT representative and mailed to the NREMT.
EMT Exam
You will need to know developmental differences for children for the EMT exam. From the time they are born until they transition to adulthood, children experience rapid physical growth. How they engage with their environment and other humans also changes dramatically. Children can be broadly divided into the following subgroups:
Infants: Birth to 1 year
Toddlers: 1 to 3 years
Preschool: 3 to 5 years
School age: 6 to 12 years
Adolescent: 13 to 18 years
Check out the developmental differences among the groups, as well as their impact upon your assessment and treatment approach.
EMT Exam
As an emergency medical technician (EMT), you often need to tell the difference between one medical condition and another, known as the differential process or differentiating the medical complaint. This can be a challenge when the presenting signs and symptoms are very similar.
Here's an example: A 54-year-old male presents with breathing difficulty and says his chest feels "tight.
This Cheat Sheet is a quick summary of facts you should know about becoming a certified emergency medical technician (EMT), including certification steps, computer adaptive testing, and exam preparation.Getting and maintaining an EMT certificationThe requirements for becoming a certified emergency medical technician (EMT) vary from state to state.
EMT Exam
The following practice questions are similar to the EMT exam’s questions about cardiology and resuscitation. Read each question carefully, and then select the answer choice that most correctly answers the question.
Sample questions
A 68-year-old male has chest pressure and shortness of breath after climbing a flight of stairs.
EMT Exam
The following practice questions are similar to the EMT exam’s questions about EMS operations. Read each question carefully, and then select the answer choice that best responds to the question.
Sample questions
You and your partner have just finished a shift and are off duty. The station pager goes off, signaling another call.
EMT Exam
The following practice questions are similar to the EMT exam’s questions about medical fundamentals. Read each question carefully, and then select the answer choice that most correctly answers the question.
Sample questions
A 50-year-old female is alert but has difficulty speaking clearly and is unable to sit up by herself.
The practice questions you see here are similar to the EMT exam’s questions about pediatrics. Read each question carefully, and then select the answer choice that most correctly answers the question.
Sample questions
A 6-year-old female presents sitting upright, with difficulty breathing. Her pulse rate is 100, and she is breathing 22 times per minute.
The practice questions you find here are similar to the EMT exam’s questions about trauma. Read each question carefully, and then select the answer choice that most correctly answers the question.
Sample questions
The patient has sustained a single blow to the head. He is awake, alert, and complaining of a severe headache and neck pain.
EMT Exam
The following practice questions are similar to the NREMT EMT exam’s questions. Read each question carefully and then select the answer choice that most correctly answers the question. This will help you figure out what you need to know.
Sample questions
At a drugstore, an adult patient presents with cool, pale, and diaphoretic skin and difficulty breathing, with wheezing auscultated in both lungs.
You should always use practice exams before arriving to take the EMT exam. Practice exams are a great tool for helping you prepare for the big day. Preparation and study can go a long way.
Sample questions
Directions: Choose the best answer to each question. Mark the corresponding oval on the answer sheet.
Your patient presents with a rash on both hands after being exposed to poison oak.
Before taking the EMT exam, you should always prepare with one or more practice exams. This will help you understand the format and find any gaps in knowledge before test day.
Sample questions
Directions: Choose the best answer to each question. Mark the corresponding oval on the answer sheet.
Your patient is fully immobilized on a backboard when he starts to vomit into his airway.
One way to get the most of your studying for the NREMT exam is to set objectives for yourself. Textbooks are not written like novels; you don’t read one from beginning to end. A textbook is designed to be more of a reference. You read only the sections that you need to read to gain comprehension or understanding.
On the NREMT exam, you should make efforts to eliminate answer choices to narrow down your options. If you end up having to select between two options, try these tips:
Reread the stem once more just to make sure that you didn’t miss any subtle clues.
Sometimes the best answer is the longest one or the one that has the most specificity.
On the EMT Exam, you will be faced with multiple choice questions. A multiple-choice question, or item, is made of several parts: the stem, distractors, and the correct answer. Each part plays a specific role.
The stem
The stem is the “question” part of the item. It’s the first part that sets up the situation for you to respond to, providing only the information necessary for you to answer the item correctly.
Begin by discarding answers that are clearly incorrect. On the NREMT exam, answers that are obviously wrong may not appear often, but when they do, make the most of it and get rid of them. It’s better to make an educated guess when you have three possibilities rather than four!
If you’re not lucky enough to remove an obvious incorrect answer, read each choice carefully.
After you read an NREMT test item, you may be very tempted to look at the answers and choose the one that seems correct. This strategy may work in many cases, but it can also work against you, if more than one answer appears correct. Many of the NREMT exam items are challenging for exactly this reason.
A stem should be written well enough so that you should be able to answer it without looking at the responses.
EMT Exam
You will need to know how to treat a pediatric patient as an EMT. For children ranging from infant to toddlers, performing the pediatric assessment triangle (PAT) can help you to quickly determine how critical the situation is without rushing right up to the child. As you enter the scene, take a moment to look at the following signs:
Appearance: Is the child awake?
EMT Exam
For the EMT exam, you will need to be aware of conditions that affect circulation. Think about how water moves through your house or apartment. There has to be a pump that pushes water from your well or your town’s water supply into the dwelling.
Once there, pipes channel that water to a variety of appliances, from faucets and showers to toilets and sprinklers.
You will need to know about MOI’s and force for the EMT exam. A mechanism of injury is a description of a force that can cause an injury. Remember Isaac Newton and his three basic laws of physics? They may sound complicated, but in trauma they’re pretty easy to understand.
Say that someone is driving a car down a country road.
You will need to know when it is necessary to oxygenate for the EMT exam. EMTs used to give oxygen to everyone, regardless of what the complaint was. Chest pain? Give oxygen. Toe pain? Yep, give that gas too! Medical experts have since discovered that inhaling more oxygen than necessary can be harmful for certain conditions, and it isn’t helpful in situations where it isn’t necessary.
EMT Exam
Although you may think there are lots of MOIs (mechanism of injury), they really boil down to two general forms for the EMT exam: blunt and penetrating. Each has unique properties. In addition, you have to consider blast MOI, which is a combination of blunt and penetrating MOI.
Blunt MOI
Blunt MOI spreads its force over an area of the body.
EMT Exam
For the EMT exam, you will need to be able to distinguish acute coronary syndrome from everything else. The heart is especially sensitive to changes in perfusion. Because of its importance, the heart has a well-developed system of coronary arteries that feed the myocardial muscle.
These arteries are fairly small and become easily blocked with a rupture of plaque (a layer of fat and minerals that embeds within the inner layers of an artery) or emboli (small particles of plaque) that float in from other parts of the body and lodge within the coronary artery itself.
Approaching the CAT is a little like jumping a high bar. The bar is set at a certain height for the EMT exam, and you need a certain amount of speed and skill to make it over the first time. If you do, the next time you jump, the bar may be set higher.
On the other hand, if you don’t make the first jump, the bar may be adjusted a little lower before you try again.
EMT Exam
If you’ve never taken a test on a computer before, you may expect it to be intimidating. However, a CAT such as the NREMT EMT exam is designed to be user-friendly. You use a mouse to click through the different screens and select answers. And at the beginning of the exam, there are even sample screens for you to practice on before you begin the actual test.
You must know how to avoid negligence in the field and for the EMT exam. If you breach your duty to act, the patient may be able to file a lawsuit against you for negligence. To prove negligence, the patient has to be able to prove four things happened:
You had a duty to act.
There was a breach of that duty.
For exam purposes and in the field, EMTs are required to document what you observed about the patient and the environment, the findings that you assessed, the care you provided, and any changes in the patient’s condition while in your care. Documentation may be done either on paper forms or electronically with a computer, laptop, or tablet.
EMT Exam
As an EMT, you will need to know how to handle psychiatric and behavioral situations. At some point in their lives, most people experience some type of behavioral event that makes them act out of the ordinary.
In most situations, acute, severe stress is the trigger. Once the trigger is pulled and the stress passes, they return to their normal behavior.
EMT Exam
EMS providers deal with human beings. So be prepared for questions dealing with real emergencies on the EMT exam. You need to be able to listen attentively and communicate clearly. These skills come naturally to some, while others need to work at them. If you’re part of the second group, take a deep breath and relax.
For the EMT exam, you must know that a heart that beats so weakly that it doesn’t create a pulse or doesn't contract at all causes the condition known as cardiac arrest. Because there is no blood flow, skin becomes cold and cyanotic (blue), and the patient becomes unresponsive to all stimuli. If cardiac arrest continues for more than a few minutes, enough brain cells die to cause permanent death.
The EMT exam will expect you to know how to handle a normal delivery. Although the majority of newborn deliveries occur within the confines of a labor and delivery suite, there’s a chance that you’ll be called upon to perform a delivery as an EMT.
While that may instill panic in your heart, rest assured that delivery is a normal process and that the vast majority of deliveries are not complicated.
Unfortunately, on rare occasions a delivery runs into trouble. The EMT exam will expect you to be prepared. You can manage a few situations; others require immediate recognition of a serious problem that requires rapid transport to a hospital capable of handling such cases. Here are some of the abnormal delivery conditions you may face in the field.
The EMT exam will ask questions about resuscitating a newborn. The vast majority of newborns begin to cry almost immediately after birth. Sometimes there is something abnormal happening, and you need to stimulate the baby to begin breathing or intervene with breathing or circulation. Fortunately, for most newborns, it takes very little effort — you simply have to be aware and prepared to help the infant start breathing.
EMT Exam
Working completely alone as an EMT is extremely rare. Even in those circumstances, you’ll likely be interacting with other healthcare and public safety providers at some point during a call. More likely, you’ll be functioning as a member of a team. It may be a single partner, a fire engine crew, or even an emergency department staff — regardless of the size, everyone has a role to play.
EMT Exam
You will need to be familiar with all types of injuries for the EMT exam. The injuries you will find here require rapid identification and, in some cases, immediate action on your part. These are conditions that either block (obstruct) the airway or somehow impair the patient’s ability to breathe adequately. Without the ability to move air well, the patient’s ability to survive any injury is severely compromised.
EMT Exam
For the EMT exam, you will need to familiarize yourself with injuries of the circulatory system. Two types of injuries you should know are injuries to the heart and injuries to the vasculature.
Injuries to the heart
The heart’s function as a pump can’t be overstated; even a small bruise can cause diminished cardiac output.
EMT Exam
You will definitely have to invest some time in studying if you plan on taking the EMT exam. However, you need to make the most out of that studying. Pay attention to your own habits so you know when studying with others is a good idea or when you just need to take a break.
Studying with buddies
Studying with classmates can be helpful.
Many questions on the EMT exam, as well as real situations, will involve breathing. To know when to ventilate is to know when the patient crosses the line between respiratory distress and respiratory failure:
Respiratory distress: In respiratory distress, the patient is compensating for a potential hypoxia problem by breathing faster, deeper, and/or harder.
EMT Exam
For the EMT exam, you need to understand vehicle readiness. Professional emergency vehicles must be stocked with the appropriate type and levels of equipment. For ambulances, your agency or your regulatory body may have specific requirements for what needs to be available. Medical supplies, such as medications, often have expiration dates that require you to replace them when necessary.
The EMT exam will ask questions about managing large incidents. Incidents that overwhelm local, immediately available resources are commonly called mass casualty incidents (MCI). These can take the form of a major vehicle crash with multiple patients, a fire or hazardous materials incident that sickens many people, or a weather-related event such as a tornado or flash flood.
EMT Exam
Hidden injuries are always a concern for an EMT. After you can distinguish different types of MOIs, you can match up different areas of the body to possible injury patterns. Here’s an overview of possible injuries. Obvious injuries are those you can see; hidden injuries are ones that require assessment and an understanding of MOI.
EMT Exam
You will need to know when cardiovascular findings are not normal for the EMT exam. Problems can arise within the cardiovascular system itself, and problems found elsewhere in the body can cause the cardiovascular system to compensate for the issue, sometimes responding so severely that it injures itself.
When the body senses that perfusion is or may be compromised, several things happen.
If you plan on taking the EMT exam, you should definitely consider taking a preassessment test to see where you stand. Preassessment tests are good for identifying your strengths and problem areas.
Sample Questions
You determine that your unconscious patient has an inadequate airway. You insert an oropharyngeal airway.
EMT Exam
For the purposes of the EMT exam, you can use yourself as a “normal” picture when it comes to cardiovascular findings. Your normal resting pulse should be strong, regular, and pumping at about 60–100 beats per minute while at rest. You should be able to easily find this pulse by checking your radial artery on the thumb side of your wrist.
As an EMT, you enter people’s homes or workplaces, work in the middle of a roadway, or handle patients affected by a hazardous materials incident or major catastrophic event. You must maintain a constant state of alertness to safety hazards that exist in the environment.
Some safety concerns are common, such as trip hazards, slippery surfaces, and obstructions like low ceilings and overhead wires.
EMT Exam
No matter where you engage your patient, there is a clear set of medical legal guidelines you should practice religiously and know for the EMT exam. Ethics and “doing the right thing” apply as well, but it’s the law that will either protect you or, if you do the wrong thing, provide patients the ability to be compensated for their losses.
EMT Exam
Several pediatric medical conditions are commonly seen by EMTs. In the majority of cases, your care is supportive — ensure that problems with airway, breathing, and circulation are identified and managed, and help maintain body temperature and oxygenation during transport. In some situations, you may need to intervene quickly.
EMT Exam
Trauma is the number-one killer of children in the United States and a topic you should know for the EMT exam. In general, infants and toddlers are most commonly hurt through falls or abuse. In suspected abuse, there may be multiple bruises in various stages of healing.
The caregiver may provide a history of the patient being “accident prone.
Depending on where you work (and for definitely for the EMT exam), you may be required to know how to perform simple rescue operations. These may include breaking a car window safely with a window punch, prying open a stuck car door with a pry bar, or stabilizing a vehicle that is on its side with cribbing.
At the very least, when at the scene of a motor vehicle crash, you must make sure that the ignition is turned off and that the vehicle is in park before you begin your assessment and treatment.
You may find yourself faced with a large incident as an EMT. The NREMT exam will expect you to know how to approach large incidents, including triage and hazardous incidents.
Triage
Triage is a French word that means “to sort.” In mass casualty incidents, triage is used to decide which patient receives the most immediate care, who can wait to be treated, and, sadly, who is beyond help.
You will need to know all about blood pressure for the EMT exam. You will encounter situations with blood pressure frequently as an EMT. One way of talking about blood pressure is with this formula:
Blood pressure (BP) = Cardiac output (CO) × systemic vascular resistance (SVR) (the size of the vasculature)
Before you panic, rest assured — you won’t be calculating BP this way!
EMT Exam
Many situations you may encounter as an EMT and on the NREMT exam involve breathing, Ironically, normal breathing is hard to see. That’s because your respiratory system is very effective at its job. There’s so much surface area in the alveoli that gas exchange is very easy.
Therefore, the body needs to exert very little energy to make gases move between the alveoli and capillaries.
EMT Exam
NREMT switched to CAT in 2007. Computer adaptive testing actually adapts questions on the exam based on your answers to previous questions. What are the benefits of using CAT rather than paper tests? CAT has earned a reputation for being
Sophisticated: The CAT is more sophisticated than a traditional paper-based exam; it really becomes your test, giving you questions based on your performance on the previous ones.
The cognitive portion of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) exam is a computer adaptive test (CAT) that continuously evaluates your performance as you answer each question. Here are a few things to keep in mind before you take the emergency medical technician (EMT) exam:
As you take the exam, the computer constantly evaluates how you respond to each question and shows you questions at a level of difficulty that matches your ability to answer them.
The requirements for becoming a certified emergency medical technician (EMT) vary from state to state. However, several steps are common to the EMT certification process. They include the following steps:
Enroll in an EMT course.
Search on the web or go to your local emergency medical services (EMS) or fire station to find out where reputable EMT training programs are offered.
EMT Exam
There are a few female-specific medical conditions you should review for the EMT exam. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an infection that affects the female reproductive system. Bacteria enter the body through the vaginal canal, usually during intercourse, and can infect the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries, causing pain, foul-smelling vaginal discharge, and fever.
You need to complete a few steps before you can apply your skills and knowledge as an EMT. Because emergency medical services are regulated at the state level, these steps can vary from one state to the next. Always check your state’s EMS website for the details.
Find and complete a class
EMT classes are conducted by a wide variety of institutions.
EMT Exam
The ability to evaluate spinal cord injuries is essential knowledge for the EMT exam. Through much of the history of EMS, practitioners have been taught to immediately apply spinal immobilization to patients if the MOI could have caused a possible spinal cord injury. The fact is, the chance of a spinal cord injury is nearly nonexistent when the patient isn’t complaining of neck or back pain.
After you complete the EMT exam, your test results are transmitted to the NREMT, which verifies that all necessary steps have been completed. The NREMT uses a different method than you may expect in scoring your exam. Rather than having a simple pass/fail process, which you may be used to with paper exams, the nature of a computer adaptive test results in a more complex scoring process.
You may decide that the best way to prepare for your EMT exam is to take a preparation course. You have several options for finding an EMT course in your neck of the woods:
Perhaps the easiest way to find a course is to perform a web search. Entering “EMT training” and the name of your town, city, or county in your browser of choice often brings up programs that are available in your area.
EMT Exam
If you haven’t been to a classroom in a while, the prospect of formal learning may intimidate you. Don’t worry — EMT education is very interactive and interesting, and it’ll be what you make of it. Be prepared to have fun and be challenged!
On one hand, you get to discover how to do things such as administer oxygen, immobilize patients using long backboards, perform CPR, operate an automated external defibrillator (AED), and manage chaotic emergency scenes.
EMS is a rewarding career. But, before you take the EMT exam, you should be aware of the stresses that are associated with the profession. You have the honor of being present at the beginning of a new life as well as the end of a life. You also experience situations that most people never will. These conditions can bring on emotional stress that can be difficult to deal with.
EMT Exam
The EMT exam has two portions. In addition to your cognitive exam (taken on a computer), you need to successfully complete a hands-on practical (or psychomotor) skills examination, usually in the form of a final practical exam at the end of your course. Your state EMS office determines the exact skills that are tested; your instructor will tell you what will be evaluated.
All states require you to renew your EMT certificate periodically. The time frame varies from one part of the country to the next, but many states have a two-year interval. Some states require you to use the NREMT renewal process to recertify. Other states have their own renewal process. You should consult your state EMS office for exact details.
After you complete your training, you’re ready to focus on passing the EMT certification exam. First, determine whether your state has its own examination process. Chances are, your instructor knows this and may have already provided you with information on how to register for the state exam.
If you’re taking the NREMT exam, you must fulfill the following minimum requirements:
Be 18 years of age or older
Successfully complete an EMT training program that meets or exceeds the National EMS Education Standards for the EMT
Complete that course within two years of taking the exam
Have a current CPR certificate at the healthcare-provider level
Successfully pass a state-approved practical examination (your final practical test)
If your state requires the NREMT examination, you’ll need to set up a testing account, which is easy to do.
EMT Exam
While you’re actually taking the EMT exam, you need to stay focused and positive. It’s okay to feel nervous, a little scared even. But those testing jitters should go away as you chip away at each question. After all, you have prepared yourself well for this moment. Following are some tips to help you keep your cool and do your best when you’re taking the exam.
When you go to take the EMT exam, make sure you know how to manage trauma. After you review various mechanisms of injury and the critical injuries they can cause, take a look at the following plan of action that can be used for any trauma patient:
Ensure that the scene is as safe as possible before entry and wear appropriate personal protective equipment.
EMT Exam
There is a clear set of medical legal guidelines you should always practice and be familiar with for the EMT exam. Ethics is always important when dealing with patients. Remember that the law will either protect you or, if you do the wrong thing, provide patients the ability to be compensated for their losses as a result of your actions.
EMT Exam
You will need to know about obstetrical conditions for the EMT exam. It’s important for a woman to receive regular obstetrical care during pregnancy. Staying healthy and being aware of possible risks that may arise promote a healthy newborn infant. However, several conditions can occur during pregnancy that may require your intervention.
EMT Exam
You will need to know physiological differences in children for the EMT exam. Children have incredible demands for oxygen and nutrients as they grow and develop, due to metabolic needs. As a result, children breathe more quickly and their hearts beat faster as compared to adults; blood pressures tend to be lower.
Franklin Roosevelt once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Many students come to fear the EMT exam, having heard rumors about how difficult it is and how after the test is over, you don’t know how it went. Put those concerns aside and approach the exam like any other challenge — plan for it, work for it, and go for it.
EMT Exam
Anyone hoping to do well on the EMT exam should take a preassessment test. Preassessment test are great for seeing where you stand and identifying which areas need more study.
Sample Questions
You have arrived at a hospital with a trauma patient. There is a large amount of blood on the floor and walls of the ambulance as well as on the gurney.
Don't take the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) exam lightly. Prepare for the cognitive (computerized) portion of the emergency medical technician (EMT) exam by taking the following actions:
Create a study schedule and follow it.
Study in a place that promotes learning and retention.
Practice exams are very helpful when preparing for the EMT exam. Take the time to take a practice exam under testing conditions before test day. This will help you identify knowledge gaps and increase your confidence.
Sample questions
Directions: Choose the best answer to each question. Mark the corresponding oval on the answer sheet.
EMT Exam
Besides the classroom portion, most EMT courses also have a clinical component, where you may observe on an ambulance or fire engine, in an emergency department, or in a combination of locations. You may need to provide proof of vaccinations and immunizations in order to participate in clinical “ride-alongs.”
These clinical hours are important.
Everyone learns differently and at different rates. There are a few ways to retain the information you learn for the NREMT exam and improve comprehension. Here are a few tips that have helped other students; consider trying a couple to see whether they help you:
Use flashcards: During your studies, you may come across a fact or concept that you have difficulty remembering or understanding.
EMT Exam
Studying for a major exam such as the NREMT exam can be daunting. Because it can feel overwhelming, you may be tempted to put it off for as long as possible. Anxiety builds, and before long, panic sets in and you end up cramming the last couple of days before the exam.
Don’t procrastinate! Studies repeatedly show that cramming does little to prepare you for an exam.
EMT Exam
The EMT exam includes a cognitive portion and a practical portion. Before you can take the cognitive exam, your training program director must verify your ability to perform the following procedures competently:
Patient assessment/management of a trauma patient
Patient assessment/management of a medical patient
Cardiac arrest management/automated external defibrillator (AED)
Bag-valve-mask ventilation of an apneic patient
Spinal immobilization (for both seated and supine patients)
Long bone fracture immobilization
Joint dislocation immobilization
Traction splinting
Bleeding control/shock management
Upper airway adjuncts and suction
Mouth-to-mouth ventilation with supplemental oxygen
Supplemental oxygen administration to a breathing patient
Your course instructor verifies your skills either throughout the program or at the end of your training; it varies from one program to the next.
EMT Exam
Unlike a traditional paper and pencil examination, the number of questions on the NREMT EMT exam varies, roughly from 70 to 120 items per exam attempt. The actual number of questions you see depends on how well or how poorly you’re performing. How does that happen?
The NREMT EMT exam is a computer adaptive test (CAT).
EMT Exam
Your results for the EMT exam are posted in your account on the NREMT website on the same day as your exam or shortly thereafter. How you move forward depends on whether you passed:
If you passed: The NREMT will mail you your registration card and paperwork explaining the renewal process that you’ll need to undertake in two years.
EMT Exam
Familiarize yourself with air medical services for the EMT exam. Many, if not most, EMS systems have access to an air medical service to transport critically ill or injured patients over distances that would take significantly longer to travel by ground ambulance. Most air medical transports are done by specially configured helicopters staffed by a wide range of medical personnel, including paramedics, nurses, and physicians.
EMT Exam
You will need to know about allergic reactions and anaphylaxis for the EMT exam. The immune system is key to your ability to ward off foreign bodies that can make you sick — bacteria, viruses, and other organisms, as well as proteins that can be irritating to the inside of your body, such as pollen.
When it detects an invader, the immune system triggers a series of responses that results in bringing white blood cells to the source, which attack and hopefully kill off the offending body.
EMT Exam
This may not be what you immediately think of when you think EMS, but driving the ambulance will certainly be covered on the EMT exam. Perhaps the most dangerous part of an emergency incident is responding in the emergency mode.
Statistics show that your chances of being injured or killed while driving with lights and siren on is far greater than in your private vehicle or driving routinely.
EMT Exam
Make sure you know about infectious diseases for the EMT exam. The immune system works to protect you from infectious diseases, which are transmitted from one person to the next. Infectious diseases range from illnesses such as a simple cold to very contagious and serious conditions like tuberculosis and meningitis.
EMT Exam
You will need to know about lower airways conditions for the EMT Exam. Here’s a list of a variety of common conditions affecting the lower airway structures, causing shortness of breath.
Problem
Signs and Symptoms
Action Steps
Asthma
Episodic respiratory distress; wheezes auscultated during
breathing; may have past medical history; may have prescribed
inhalers.
EMT Exam
You will need to be familiar with nonrespiratory conditions for the EMT exam. When other, nonrespiratory conditions arise that affect oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels in the body, the respiratory system attempts to compensate by working harder. Here’s a list of some of the more common ones.
Problem
Signs and Symptoms
Action Steps
Environmental/industrial exposure to toxic gas or
chemicals
Hazardous scene; may involve multiple victims; coughing;
nausea, vomiting; may have secretions from eyes, nose, or mouth;
lung sounds may be clear or may contain wheezes or crackles;
headache, blurred vision (especially with carbon monoxide
poisoning).
EMT Exam
You will need to know about obstetrics and gynecology for the EMT exam. Obstetrics studies the pregnancy process, from fertilization to delivery. Gynecology is the study of diseases that can affect the reproductive system. Together, they represent a variety of conditions specific to the female.
The female reproductive system consists of several organs.
EMT Exam
Toxicology is the study of toxic or poisonous substances and their effects on the body and a topic you should know for the EMT exam. The signs and symptoms associated with toxic exposure and poisoning range very widely, from simple annoyances to life-threatening conditions.
As an EMT, your primary goals are to ensure your own safety and identify the possibility of a toxic exposure while preserving the patient’s airway, breathing, and circulation.
EMT Exam
You will need to be familiar with upper airway conditions for the EMT exam. Given that the airway is the only way for air to enter and exit the body, anything that partially or completely blocks it is troublesome, to say the least. Here’s a list of common conditions you should be familiar with, their signs and symptoms, and treatment options for each.
EMT Exam
The following analogy may help you on the EMT exam. As in Aesop’s fable, the endocrine system can be compared to the nervous system as the tortoise to the hare. They both perform the same general function — control — but unlike the zippiness of the nervous system, the endocrine system is a much slower but longer-lasting control system.
EMT Exam
Make sure you know about the gastrointestinal system for the EMT exam. The abdomen contains most of the major structures and organs of digestion. In general, they’re divided into two categories: hollow organs such as the stomach, gallbladder, and intestines, and solid organs such as the liver, kidneys, and pancreas.
EMT Exam
Your blood performs several amazing functions and you will need to know all about them for the EMT exam. The red blood cells carry most of your oxygen quite efficiently, picking it up only at the alveoli, where it’s most abundant, and dropping it off only at the cells, where the concentration is lowest.
White blood cells come in different types, but they work in concert to combat infection.
EMT Exam
You will need to know about the nervous system for the EMT exam. Simplistically, the nervous system serves a command and control purpose, primarily by receiving signals from nerves throughout the body, passing them through the spinal cord, processing those signals in the brain, and communicating some type of change in response.
EMT Exam
The EMT exam will ask you questions about the urinary system. Located in the retroperitoneal space in the flanks, kidneys are the body’s main filters. They primarily regulate the balance of water and various electrolytes within the body, as well as remove certain toxins, which helps to control the body’s blood pressure.
The EMT cognitive exam is what most students call the “written exam.” It covers all the information you spent a few months learning in class. However, the exam isn’t just about remembering facts and figures; it’s more about how to apply that information to “real life” situations.
You take the cognitive portion of the EMT exam on a computer at a testing center.
The NREMT administers its computer adaptive testing (CAT) exams through Pearson VUE Testing Centers. Pearson VUE conducts testing for a wide variety of licenses and certifications across the world in a secure, comfortable environment.
When your application to take the exam is approved by the NREMT, you’re given a list of testing centers and their locations.
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