5 Things for New Paramedics to Remember Before Signing Up for the NREMT

NREMT Test Prep: A Guide for New Paramedic Students

You’re finally done with medic class. You passed tests, did all your clinical rotations. Just one step left.

Passing your NREMT.

Stressed about it? Don’t worry, so is everyone else.

The NREMT is the last step before you can go out into the world as a real paramedic. Preparing for it can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.

Hi, I’m Shay. I’ve been working 911 EMS for the last 13 years. I’ve taught both EMT and Paramedic classes. And today I want to give you the 5 top things to keep in mind when preparing for the NREMT.

5 Things to Help Prepare for the NREMT-P

• Research the Exam
• Rehearse Practice Exams
• Create a Personal Study Guide
• Practice and Review
• Reevaluate

Let’s break these steps down a little more….

Researching the NREMT

First off, you need to know about the test you’re taking.

The NREMT changes every so often. Sometimes they change what topics they emphasize. Other times it’s the format.

I suggest you do a quick read through of the latest NREMT info, but here’s the basics.

You have six cognitive areas to be tested on.

1. Airway, Respiration, and Ventilation 8-12%
2. Cardiology and resuscitation 10-14%
3. Trauma 6-10-%
4. Medical and OB 24-28%
5. EMS Ops 8-12%
6. Clinical Judgement 34-38%

A big portion of the test hinges on your clinical judgement. The test wants to see your ability to take in information and make a good decision from it.

Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT)

This is the most unique thing about the NREMT.

You are given an initial series of questions by the exam. Then it chooses more questions for you. It pulls more questions from its massive question bank that it thinks are just at or above your ability to answer.

The test will continue to ask questions in this manner until it has a 95% confidence you’re competent in this area. Or until you max out on questions.

The NREMT-P will ask a minimum of 110 and max of 150 questions.

Unscored Exam Questions

Unfortunately, not all of your questions count towards your score.

20 of your questions are “pilot questions.” This means they are using the question to see if it’s a good one for future tests.

They don’t count towards your overall grade. However you will never know which of the questions are ungraded. Treat them all like they matter

There are a lot question types in the new Paramedic NREMT.

You should be proficient at answering each of the different types. Try finding exam resources (I have a list here) that let you practice each.

If you want to read it for yourself, here’s the most recent info from the NREMT website.

Or get a good overview from this video

Take Practice Exams

Now you know a bit about the exam. This will help you feel more prepared when you step into that exam room.

It’s time to see where you sit with the information in the test.

I’ve heard of a lot of different exam review programs. I’m sure you have too. Find the one that fits you the best.

Or if you don’t want to do that, here’s a few I personally recommend.

Ideally you should find a program that gives you a breakdown of the 6 testable areas we talked about in section one. You want to know where your strengths and weaknesses are.

It’s super important for your study prep to know what areas you’re most deficient in.

There’s a million things you need to know for the exam. But you only have so much time to study. We have to prioritize.

If you want my number one recommendation on apps…it’s Pocket Prep

All my department’s EMT and Paramedic students get access to this when they start their training program. That’s how much we believe in it.

Highly recommend checking them out.

Create a Personalized Study Guide

Ok, you finished your first run though MedicTest Prep and found you’re scoring low on OB (shocker) but high in Trauma.

There’s no point in focusing more on spinal trauma during your previous study time. You need to find a way to effectively study your worst sections.

You’re going to make your own personalized NREMT study guide.

This step is fun – for me at least- but it can waste a lot of time. You need to focus on the areas that will make the biggest improvement in your score.

In other words, study the stuff you suck most at.

I’ve taken a bunch of classes over the course of my career, for college and certifications. I’ve come up with a pretty handy system to making study guides.

And it starts with vocab.

I start my study guides by walking my way through the glossary one word at a time. If I come across anything I couldn’t explain to a brand new EMT, it goes on The List.

The List are all the things I don’t know well enough.

It’s what all my study guides are really based on.

Then I take my list and start asking questions about all the key terms. Describe it. Where is it? How does it work? Why does it work? What medications do I have that could affect it?

It’s not everything, but if you could answer all that about a vocab word, I’d say you know it pretty well.

Do this for every word on your list.

This is the hardest part but even making the study guide will benefit you in taking the NREMT.

Time for the easy part

Review and Practice

You already know what you don’t know.

You made a study guide for it

Now you can just sit down and study. Go through it over and over until you feel comfortable talking about anything on the list. In fact, study this until you get board of talking about it. Annoy your friends and family with how much you’re talking about random OB stuff.

Got it? Good.

Now it’s time for the (sorta) last step.

Reevaluate

Go back to your preferred NREMT prep program.

Take the test again and reevaluate your scores. After all your studying and making The List, your lowest scores should be greatly improved.

Now we repeat step 3 again.

Find your areas that need the most improvement. Make a new list. Hopefully it’s different from the first. And keep moving forward.

It’s most important to shore up your weakest areas.

It’s where you will make the biggest improvements in the shortest amount of time.

Then repeat. Keep doing this until your exam date. By then you should have an excellent grasp of the material and will pass your NREMT Exam no problem.

And again, check out Pocket Prep for these check-ins.

So Let’s Wrap It Up

The National Registry exam is super important for you to pass. It’s what lets you act as a paramedic. And you need it to get your state license.

Take the time to prepare with these five steps and you’ll be fine.

• Research the Exam
• Rehearse Practice Exams
• Create a Personal Study Guide
• Practice and Review
• Reevaluate

I hope you found this useful. If you want more tips you can find links to all my recent blog posts HERE.

Good luck on your exams!