Be sure to understand how the EMT-B functions under the license of the physician. Be able to distinguish between direct and indirect medical control

Take the National Registry Practical Examination Checklists with you during clinical or field internships. Use these checklists during practice sessions or simulations.

During an EMT class, testing is a major cause of anxiety and stress. Gather information on test-taking skills and how to reduce test anxiety. The Internet is a good resource for this type of information.

Forgetting to take BSI or standard precautions represents an automatic failure on many practical examinations checkoff sheets.

Review the normal vital sign values until you can cite them from memory. Pay close attention to pediatric values. You must be able to recognize normal blood pressure values or ranges for a patient's age and size. Practice quickly determining a treatment plan when blood pressure is outside the normal range.

Be sure to look for a medical identification tag during your assessment of any patient.

Become comfortable with integrating the SAMPLE history into your assessment process. Be sure to include OPQRST information. Practice gaining SAMPLE information on both medical and trauma patients.

Review proper lifting techniques and safety considerations. Be able to recognize signs and symptoms of back injuries associated with lifting.

Review the indications and steps for completing all of the emergency moves.

Review the indications, uses, and capabilities of each type of stretcher and cot. Recognize which devices are designed for transport, which are designed for immobilization, and which are used for both.

Study the basic airway structures in your textbook. You must be comfortable with the anatomical location and function of each structure. Be sure you study the nares and the nasopharynx.

Several practical exam stations require you to open and maintain a patent airway. You must be able to open the airway using different methods. You may also be required to assess another person's ability to open the airway. Make sure you are comfortable using the head-tilt/chin-lift and jaw-thrust maneuvers.

Whenever you are managing a patient's airway, state that you have suction available nearby. Always suction when necessary. Never hesitate.

Learn the indications, contraindications, and potential complications associated with using airway adjuncts. Practice until you are comfortable and familiar with using them. Practice measuring oral and nasal airways on patients of different sizes. Practice until you can use the adjuncts while performing the other skills listed on the evaluation forms.

Correctly administering supplemental oxygen is a required step in some of the practical skills stations. Review the skills evaluation forms to determine when oxygen is required. Practice proper sizing, setting flow rates, and reassessing respiratory effort for each patient requiring oxygen. When using a nasal cannula, do not exceed the maximum oxygen flow of 6 LPM. Check the oxygen supply to be sure there is enough oxygen to complete a call using a high-flow delivery device. Review the basic safety precautions form working with oxygen. Be sure the oxygen cylinder is secure.

Practice the skills associated with airway management often. Be sure you understand all the proper ratios, rates, depths, and sequences. Master the skills used for infants and children. Constantly reassess your interventions. Airway position is a common cause of ventilation complications. Remember to take or verbalize infection control precautions at all times.

Review the checkoff sheet for the National Registry's Patient Assessment and Management Practical Examination. Compare the flow with the steps in the Patient Assessment Diagram in your textbook.

Review the steps and questions necessary for establishing scene safety. Review the BSI precautions needed at various EMS scenes. Know your limitations. You must also know when to request additional resources.

The Patient Assessment and Management (Trauma) practical examination station measures your ability to quickly assess and treat a trauma patient. Practice with friends and use the practical skills checklist to make sure that you include all the necessary steps. While taking the exam, listen carefully to descriptions of the mechanism of injury and the patient's condition.

Be prepared to read several different written scenarios and identify the appropriate history and physical exam questions for each case. Try to anticipate possible response that a patient might give to these questions. Review the patient management diagram in your textbook.

Understand the purpose for the ongoing assessment and recognize the steps included in this assessment.

Review the responsibility of the FCC for EMS communications. Briefly review the various types of communications systems used in EMS. Understand the basic components of an EMS radio report and the principles of radio communications. Be familiar with the typical progression of radio transmissions throughout a response. Note the basic skills for interpersonal communication and communication with medical direction.

You will not be asked to generate a PCR after any skills station. However, your should review the concept of standard of care, know the difference between patient date and administrative or run data, understand what belongs in each section of the standard PCR, and practice using standard medical abbreviations.

Review the medications that are within the scope of EMT-B practice. Be able to quickly list the indications, contraindications, and typical dosage for the drugs you can administer. Remember that your local EMS agency may allow an expanded scope of practice. In this case, you will not be tested on some drugs used by your agency.

Review the major structures of the airway. Be able to identify each landmark quickly. Review the signs and symptoms of adequate and inadequate breathing. Be able to identify the range of normal respiratory rates in adults, children, and infants.

Review the treatment steps for patients with each of the chronic respiratory conditions listed in your textbook. Understand the basic physiological complications behind each of the conditions. For example, you should know that asthma causes bronchoconstriction.

Be aggressive, but careful, when caring for patients in respiratory distress. Know how to manage each condition. Provide oxygen therapy for patients in distress and those with illness or injuries affecting respiratory function. Review the OPQRST questions to ask the patient in respiratory distress. Remember that he or she may have difficulty speaking. List SAMPLE questions for patients with respiratory illness.

Review the steps for assisting a patient with the MDI. Be able to list the side effects of the medication quickly. Describe what to do if the patient has an adverse reaction. Remember to apply the principles of BSI and standard precautions. Provide ventilation assistance as needed.

Review the ranges for pediatric respiratory rates, tidal volumes, and heart rates. Recognize the reasons for changes in these vital signs. Review the treatment for pediatric patients with asthma that causes respiratory distress. Review the steps for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, artificial ventilation, and foreign body airway obstructions for infants and children.

Be prepared to care for patients with an altered mental status. Be aggressive when controlling the airway and providing oxygen therapy. Review and understand the conditions causing altered mental status.

Recognize the most frequent signs of diabetes. Review the treatment. Always consider administering oral glucose. Remember to maintain the airway. List as many medical emergencies as possible with signs and symptoms similar to diabetic emergencies. Practice taking the history and physical exam for a diabetic patient.

Review the various causes of stroke and syncope. Be able to quickly identify the signs and symptoms of each. Review airway management steps for altered mental status. Be able to distinguish between a TIA and a stroke.

Review the treatment standard for temperature-related emergencies, water emergencies, and bites and stings. Treat environmental emergencies aggressively. Remember to assess for and treat early signs of shock.

Recognize the importance of scene safety awareness. Remember the steps for scene safety. Be able to recognize and use dispatch information. This will give you valuable clues about scene safety and patient condition.