I’ve been receiving a bunch of questions about The National Registry Study Guide. I know there are a bunch of folks who’d like to take a free practice test before they commit to buying an expensive online study guide.
Yes, you can take a free practice test right here:
Click here for the free samples page of The EMT Advantage.
Thanks for all the questions. I appreciate the interest in the new site and the new product line.
Since the beginning 
of The EMT Spot, there has been one question that has dominated my e-mail in box. It goes something like this:
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the website. I was searching around on the internet for information to help me in my EMT class. I read a bunch of your articles and it’s great that you put all this information out there for new EMTs like me. I’m graduating from my EMT class in [Insert time frame between one and six weeks] and then I’m off to take the National Registry test. What advice do you have for me on getting through the test? What can you tell me about the testing format? I hear that it’s [Insert common rumor or misconception here.] Do you recommend any study guides or other resources?
Thanks for your help,
[Insert future EMTs name here]
Since The EMT Spot started three years ago, I’ve received this e-mail one or two times per month. Sometimes I responded personally. Sometimes I just cut and paste a previous response. Along the way, my answer has changed. Here is the evolution of my response.
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I get a bunch of E-mails from people just starting their EMT education who want advice on how to excel in their programs. “How should I prepare? What books do you recommend?” The questions vary but their is always the familiar flavor of enthusiasm and the same basic question, “How do I do this well?”
Success in this field is fairly predictable. Use the right recipe and you’ll get there. I think the hierarchy of EMS success looks like this:
1.) Attitude
2.) Motivation
3.) Tolerance for repetition
4.) Goal orientation
5.) Strategy and tactics
6.) Performance
After my post/rant about the overuse and misuse of the DCAP BTLS TIC acronym in EMS education, I was asked the question, ” Well, are there any acronyms that you do find useful?” And the answer is an
emphatic yes. Some acronyms make for useful mnemonic devices to help us recall needed information in stressful situations. Despite my strongly worded warning about the use of acronyms, I think there are several good ones that have valid clinical uses.
For sure one of the more useful acronyms I’ve learned is OPQRST. I learned it back in EMT school in 1989 and I’ve been using it ever since. I can’t imagine how many times I’ve gone through these letters in my mind while meandering through a subjective assessment with a patient.
This is an acronym that has stood the test of time, which is saying a lot in the word of emergency medicine. Considering everything that has come and gone in the last three decades of EMS evolution, the most remarkable thing we can say about OPQRST is that it has endured.
Today lets dive a little deeper into the nature of OPQRST questioning. What does OPQRST mean? When should we use it? What kinds of questions should you be asking to get the information we’re looking for and where does the OPQRST standard fall short of providing us with a complete picture of a patients pain.
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