ATLS practice Qbank?

Started by TheDudeMD
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TheDudeMD

TheDudeMD

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I'm an incoming EM intern, just took my pretest and got an 85% without studying. I heard the failure rate for the actual ATLS multiple choice exam is as high as 50% however. I really don't want to fail!

Does anyone know of a good resource I can subscribe to or purchase geared specifically for ATLS? A Qbank or unofficial study guide would be nice. Thanks!
 
TheDudeMD said:
I'm an incoming EM intern, just took my pretest and got an 85% without studying. I heard the failure rate for the actual ATLS multiple choice exam is as high as 50% however. I really don't want to fail!

Does anyone know of a good resource I can subscribe to or purchase geared specifically for ATLS? A Qbank or unofficial study guide would be nice. Thanks!
Click to expand...

You'll be fine. Review the sections of the book you're a little uncomfortable with if you feel the need, but the people who fail are the family practice docs 30 hrs out w/o any exposure to trauma
 
After taking the course you should feel pretty comfortable with the material. We took it before intern year started and no one did any studying ahead of time.
 
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The written test as of two years ago got a lot of criticism from my group when I took it last. Was later told that's a commonly held opinion.

That said, step away from the damn crack pipe and stop thinking about prepping so hard for this.
 
DeadCactus said:
These are merit badge classes taught by underpaid medical professionals. It takes gross incompetence to fail at most places. No one wants to spend time remediating you...
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I don't know that ATLS is a "merit badge class" for anyone but an BC EP. The ATLS course I took was taught by two trauma attendings and two 2nd year residents, and was very much worth the money I spent. Most of the students were, as you said, FP docs working rural EM along with a few PAs, which is who the target audience of this class should be. The instructors took a lot of extra time teaching us "what to really do" because they are the accepting facility.

ACLS & PALS....yup, merit badge classes, but some places require them for credentialing. Good course for nurses, medics, and techs though.
 
Is concurrently maintaining BLS and ACLS a real thing after residency, once you're paying for it yourself (if your hospital doesn't, I guess)? That's always struck me as a paragon of stupidity.
 
I'm a PA working single coverage ED, so hospital credentialing requires it. Just did PALS and ACLS recertification and learned nothing except for the realization that they are actually introductory level courses geared toward nurses/medics/techs, and only touch on critically important subjects that improve survival and outcomes.
 
TooMuchResearch said:
Yes, everything but the read the book part.
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I dunno, I just took the test today as an EM intern-- passed by a decent margin, but some co-interns, very smart people who are clinically competent and paid attention, did not. There were definitely questions I got because I read the book and paid attention to certain trivial details about pregnant patients, burn management, etc. -- also some tricky wording in the questions. I agree that it's a merit badge, but with a 40 question test and a lot of ambiguity, it's not a slam dunk for everyone.
 
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I took PALS yesterday. My studying consisted of the mandatory pretest and looking over the drug doses while brushing my teeth and eating breakfast. I mostly paid attention the day of, and passed quite comfortably. Dont sweat it.
 
DrDrummer said:
I dunno, I just took the test today as an EM intern-- passed by a decent margin, but some co-interns, very smart people who are clinically competent and paid attention, did not. There were definitely questions I got because I read the book and paid attention to certain trivial details about pregnant patients, burn management, etc. -- also some tricky wording in the questions. I agree that it's a merit badge, but with a 40 question test and a lot of ambiguity, it's not a slam dunk for everyone.
Click to expand...

I agree with the quote above. I have done the ATLS/ATLS refresher course many times. I probably do not need to, but I study for it every time. As an intern, I think it is not something you should take lightly. Sure, it is a relatively easy exam, and many people pass without a problem. But I think blowing it off and not studying at all is the wrong way to look at it. At some hospitals, the ATLS course is run by the trauma surgeons and it doesn't hurt you or your program's reputation to have all the EM guys to do well on the test. Also, not doing well or failing such an "easy" exam during your first month of residency starts you off with a poor first impression on everyone (EM attendings, trauma attendings, co-residents).

I don't want to make it seem like such a big deal and stress everyone out. If you read the book and remember a couple of things that are not intuitive (Parkland formula, rule of nines, GCS score, etc), you will do just fine. But, perhaps for reasons outside of medical education, I do think it is worthwhile for interns to try to take it seriously. But yeah, Q-Bank is probably a little overboard.

As an aside, I feel the same way about interns and the inservice exam. Everyone always says they don't study for it and it is a meaningless exam. However, I am pretty sure that attendings' opinion of you is affected by scores that are very low or very high. Just my opinion.
 
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