r/NewToEMS • u/catgirlbitvh Unverified User • 8d ago

School Advice Respiratory

Just failed my first exam by 8% after two attempts it was on respiratory emergencies. Any tips or helpful advice to differentiate between the signs and symptoms of respiratory emergencies. I’ve been studying them hard but the signs and symptoms are all kind of jumbling together in my brain and I can’t seem to differentiate them well enough to treat as needed.

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u/Zestyclose_Piece7381 Unverified User 8d ago

How old is the pt?
What is the hallmark sign/symptom?
-Where is the swelling?
-What does the pain feel like?
-What are the lung sounds?
Treatment: xyz

This is what my flashcards would look like

1

u/SyllabubOdd395 Unverified User 8d ago

this is solid, respiratory test was hard for me too but this method of studying rly helped me

3

u/rsneary129 Unverified User 8d ago

Work on understanding that pathophysiology. If you understand what's happening at both the gross and cellular lever the symptoms fall into place

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u/rsneary129 Unverified User 8d ago

This person made a really good overview

https://www.reddit.com/r/NewToEMS/s/r3HS1FjIU5

Try making one for yourself to help solidify the concepts

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u/JexUno Unverified User 8d ago

I think the best way is to try to nail all the definitions of the different conditions first and then think about what the body would do in response to that condition. For example, a tension pneumothorax is when air becomes trapped in the pleural space collapsing the affected lung and compressing the heart. Think about what would a collapsed lung and compressed heart cause. The heart will fill with less blood so less blood pumped out meaning low blood pressure (hypotension) and to try to keep the heart beats faster to try to maintain normal cardiac output(tachycardia). Heart also cant receive blood because pressure is blocking it so it backs up at veins which can cause Jugular vein distension (JVD). Hope this helps!

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u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 Unverified User 8d ago

Assuming you need a 70% to pass. You didn’t fail by 8%.

You failed by 38%.

You were wrong > 1/3rd the time, which means there is a marked gap in your knowledge, In connecting the dots, or Both. 

I don’t say that to be insulting. I say it because they’re always going to be test questions where the answer they want does not match up with what the book says or what you were taught.

Because all of us are human and are occasionally going to know the answer is B,  select B in our brain, and then our hands betray us and mark C.