How to succeed on a FISDAP exam
Fisdap exams are uniquely designed to assess your knowledge and critical thinking ability.
Questions are constructed by instructors across the country and reviewed by subject matter
experts as well as a board certified Emergency Physician. After you finish the exam, we hope
you will come away with a good sense of what you mastered or areas for improvement. Please
take advantage of the instructions below.
Knowing the information in your textbook will build a great foundation for what the FISDAP
exams will require you to do: apply the knowledge and think critically to solve real life EMS
problems. We want to prepare you for your national or state certification exam.
We recommend completing the workbook that comes with the textbook your class is using.
Additionally, we follow current American Heart Association guidelines. We also encourage you
to utilize Fisdap’s Study Tools
. It allows you to practice your test-taking skills on similar
constructed test and quizzes.
There are typically 3 types of questions Fisdap uses when we construct an exam.
Understanding the construction will help increase your success.
• You should… Questions that end in “
You should
” are asking you to apply knowledge
treat a patient as you would in the field. You should select the best
treatment option
available from the choices given. If you are having trouble picking the best answer
because more than one option seems “right,” imagine that there is a “next,” “first, or
“most importantly” at the end of this type of question. Our examples: “You should
next,” or “You should most important,” or “You should first.”
• You should suspect… Questions that end in “
You should suspect
” are asking you to
suspect underlying problems or conditions that are described in the question. Think of
the condition that is the most life-threatening. You should suspect the most dangerous
condition.
• The most likely cause is… Questions that end in “
The most likely cause
” are asking
you to think about the most probable cause or condition based on the symptoms. In
this type of question you are NOT
being asked about what might be the worst possible
problem, but rather the most likely.
You may not be used to seeing these types of critical thinking questions on exams, so here
are some key test-taking tips to help you out:
1. Read the question completely and imagine what you should do to take care
of the patient. Please do this, before you look at the possible answers.
2. Read the possible answers completely and consider the BEST
answer
(since there maybe more than one plausible choice it is best not to think
of the "correct" one.
3. Once you have read the entire question and all possible answers, pick the
one you feel is best. Many times your first guess will be the correct one.
4. During the test, if your instructor allows, we encourage you to write down (on
a blank piece of paper) words you do not know and concepts you did not
understand.
5. The questions are shuffled, so don’t get discouraged if you hit some
hard questions right away.
We wish you the best on this exam, on your certification exam, and ultimately in your new
career as an EMS professional!
The Entrance Exam for Prospective Paramedic Students is an
EMS-specific exam that was
designed to evaluate nationally
registered EMTs who are applying or matriculating to
paramedic
school. The exam has over 130 questions, which range in
difficulty level from
knowledge recall to problem solving. The
exam consists of six topic areas, which were
selected by a
national committee of Emergency Medical Service educators for
the purpose of
determining which students are most likely to
succeed in a paramedic education program.
After completing this study guide, if you wish to seek additional EMT,
anatomy and physiology practice questions, please visit www.fisdap.net
and purchase EMT Study Tools.
Anatomy
- EMT level questions ranging from basic to very
challenging
1.
What are the structures that branch off the trachea into the lower
airway?
A.
Alveoli
B.
Bronchi
C.
Cricoid
D.
Arterioles
2.
What chamber of the heart is the most muscular?
A.
Left atrium
B.
Right atrium
C.
Left ventricle
D.
Right ventricle
3.
What is considered a central pulse?
A.
Radial
B.
Brachial
C.
Dorsalis pedis
D.
Femoral
Entrance Exam Study Guide
Physiology
- EMT level questions ranging from basic to very
challenging
4.
What is the amount of air that normally reaches the alveoli in an
adult?
A.
350 mL
B.
500 mL
C.
150 L
D.
750 L
5.
Where does the heart receive its nutrition from blood passing
through?
A.
Pulmonary artery
B.
Coronary artery
C.
Coronary vein
D.
Aorta
2
Math -
decimals, division, fractions, multiplication
6.
What is the place value of the number 7 in 454.07809?
A.
Hundredths
B.
Tenths
C.
Ones
D.
Thousandths
7.
Convert 3% to a decimal.
A. 3.0
B. 300.0
C. 0.03
D. 0.3
8. Divide 12/340.
A. 0.035
B. 4080
C.
22
D.
17
9. Solve [(150/20)×2].
A. 7.5
B. 37.5
C.
15
D.
60
10.
Solve x/24 = 6.
A. 4
B. 144
C. 18
D. 0.25
11.
If y = 13 and x = y/2, solve (5y) + (6x).
A. 104
B. 30.5
C. 6.5
D. 221
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EMT content -
6 topics (Airway, Cardiac, Medical Emergencies,
Obstetrics/
Gynecology & Pediatrics, EMS Operations, Trauma)
12.
A febrile 44 year old male complains of shortness of breath and has dull chest
pain. He
has been coughing up “rusty” sputum for the last 3 days. What is the most
likely cause?
A.
Pneumonia
B.
Congestive heart failure
C.
Emphysema
D.
Chronic bronchitis
13.
A 56 year old female has a complete airway obstruction from a piece of food.
She
becomes unconscious while you assess her. What should you do?
A.
Begin chest compressions.
B.
Deliver up to 5 abdominal thrusts.
C.
Attempt to ventilate her.
D.
Perform a finger sweep.
14.
A 49 year old male complains of severe right upper quadrant abdominal pain and
nausea. He is jaundiced and febrile. Vital signs are BP 98/60, P 92, R 16. What
should you
suspect?
A.
Gall stones
B.
Pancreatitis
C.
Hepatitis
D.
Gastric ulcers
15.
A power line fell at the site of a car crash. You can hear a baby crying from inside
the car. What should you do?
A.
Push the power line away with a dry wooden stick.
B.
Approach the car on the opposite side of the power line.
C.
Call the fire department.
D.
Establish a danger zone around the power line.
16.
A newborn’s head just delivered and a nuchal cord is present. What should you
do?
A.
Apply a moist, sterile dressing to the cord.
B.
Attempt to slip the cord over the infant’s head.
C.
Insert two gloved fingers to relieve pressure on the cord.
D.
Apply two clamps and cut the cord between the clamps.
17.
An 18 year old female has an open femur fracture after falling off a horse. She
is
screaming in pain. What should you do?
A.
Apply mechanical traction.
B.
Immobilize her onto a long backboard.
C.
Elevate her extremity.
D.
Assess for distal circulation.
4
Answer Key
1. B
2.
C
3. D
4. A
5. B
6. A
7.
C
8. A
9.
C
10. B
11. A
12. A
13. A
14.
C
15. D
16. B
17. D
Reading Comprehension
The exam also contains two reading comprehension passages. The first passage
assesses reading comprehension at a 9th grade level and the second evaluates reading
comprehension at the 11th grade level. Similar to other standardized tests, you will read
the passage and then respond to multiple choice questions about the text. The questions
will test your vocabulary as well as your ability to summarize, analyze, and make
inferences.
For reading comprehension practice material, there are many free websites you can
visit, including EReading Worksheets. Although we can recommend using supplemental
materials as a study aid, Fisdap cannot guarantee the validity or veracity of these
resources.
Follow these directions to take a sample practice reading comprehension quiz:
1.
Go to http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/free-reading-worksheets/reading-
comprehension-worksheets/
2.
Scroll to the Nonfiction Short Text with Review Questions section.
3.
Select the link for Submarines | Nonfiction Reading Test 1 PDF.
4.
Attempt the provided reading comprehension assignment.
5.
Click view answers to grade yourself.
Affective Domain
This section of the exam contains an assessment of the affective domain, which refers
to how people react emotionally. The questionnaire is used primarily for research
purposes. Results are combined with other data in order to develop norms, establish
psychometric properties of these scales and questions, and to study various theoretical
and practical issues within the field of personality psychology.
To give you an expectation of how to prepare for this section, here are the directions for
answering the questions, exactly as they appear on the Entrance Exam.
•
Without spending too much time dwelling on any one question, just give the first
reaction that comes to mind.
•
In order to score this exam accurately, it is very important that you answer every
question, without skipping any. You may change an answer if you wish.
•
It is ultimately in your best interest to respond as honestly as possible. Mark the
response that best shows how you really feel or see yourself, not responses that you
think might be desirable or ideal.
Sample Questions
For the questions below, read the statement and think about which response most
correctly describes your personality. These sample questions are not scored—they are
only examples to help familiarize you with the formatting.
1.
Tend to speak my mind
A.
Very inaccurate
B.
Moderately inaccurate
C.
Neither Accurate not inaccurate
D.
Moderately accurate
E.
Very accurate
2.
Task oriented
A.
Very inaccurate
B.
Moderately inaccurate
C.
Neither Accurate not inaccurate
D.
Moderately accurate
E.
Very accurate
3.
Late for appointments
A.
Very inaccurate
B.
Moderately inaccurate
C.
Neither Accurate not inaccurate
D.
Moderately accurate
E.
Very accurate
5
4.
Enjoy being in public settings
A.
Very inaccurate
B.
Moderately inaccurate
C.
Neither Accurate not inaccurate
D.
Moderately accurate
E.
Very accurate
5.
Open to feedback
A.
Very inaccurate
B.
Moderately inaccurate
C.
Neither Accurate not inaccurate
D.
Moderately accurate
E.
Very accurate
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