Verbalizing is always a tough one to remember, especially with students that get test anxiety. It happens to me.
I find myself in a very unusual position now as a prehospital EMS Educator, and also as an EMT student once again. It has been over 20 years since I was an EMT student for the first time, and all of those nerves and jitters are back again.
I remember the first time during the finals testing week, I was on the verge of an anxiety attack for the whole week. And not so fond memories of that weeks experiences are once again bringing back the same anxiety as I get closer to my own finals week in February.
One of the biggest problems I had the first time around was forgetting to verbalize everything. I was so busy concentrating on making sure I remembered to do everything correctly and not screw up, that the pathway from my brain to my mouth stopped working, lol. My biggest fear is that it will happen all over again.
Remaining calm during testing is key, and unfortunately for a lot of people, that is the hardest thing to do.
One word of advice, never let your certification lapse. Even if you don't plan on using it for a while, keep up with your CEH's. Otherwise you may just find yourself back in EMT school 20 years later trying to remember how to be a student once again.