As an ambulance operator, you must be familiar with the laws and regulations that apply on the state and local levels. Which of the following is true regarding ambulance vehicle operation?
If you do not exercise due regard for the safety of others, you are liable for the consequences.
Most states allow the operator of an ambulance responding to an emergency call to:
Drive the wrong way down a one-way street.
The basics of good driving include:
Adjusting your speed to allow for decreased visibility at night or in fog.
Factors that affect control of the ambulance, other than speed, include:
The time of day, as you can expect more traffic when schools let out and industrial plant shift changes take place.
At higher speeds, you should remember which of the following?
Enter a curve at the outside, and start turning as early as possible.
The most common location for ambulance collisions is intersections. The main causes of intersection collisions include:
A motorist "stretches" the green light and speeds into the intersection just as the lights change.
Studies have shown that many ambulance drivers inexplicably _______________ while the siren is on.
Increase their speed
Your ambulance is the first emergency vehicle to arrive at the scene of a motor vehicle collision. You should position your ambulance:
To create a block and a physical barrier between upstream traffic and the scene.
An example of a properly dispatched call would be:
Unit 701, proceed to Rosehill Rest Home at 442 Ross Ranch Road for an unresponsive 82-year-old female. Pulse and breathing present. This was reported by an LVN named Allyson at the facility, with a callback number of 555-4598. The patient is in room 222
The daily inspection of the ambulance vehicle should include:
Door closing and latching devices.
Guidelines while at the scene include:
Parking uphill and upwind from a hazardous materials spill.
Once you are ready to transport the patient to the hospital, guidelines to follow include:
Checking outside compartment doors and checking for any equipment left outside.
Once you arrive at the receiving facility, you should:
Complete your written report and leave a copy at the emergency department before you go.
Infection control procedures should include:
Sterilizing equipment that will be used invasively.
Your patient drove his car off of the road and into a tree. He is severely entangled in the wreckage, has a head injury with an altered level of consciousness, and is showing signs of shock. The extrication team indicates to you that it will be at least 1
Request an air transport.
When setting up a landing zone for a helicopter, you should:
Always crouch when approaching or leaving the helicopter, as the blades can dip down to 4 feet.
Ambulances should always be tracked and never left running, or with keys in the ignition, while unattended. This is to help prevent emergency service vehicles from:
Being used in domestic terrorist attacks.
An EMS uniform store must:
Safeguard EMS patches, badges, and identifying articles from unauthorized individuals.
Prevent CO poisoning in ambulance vehicles by:
Keeping the heater or air conditioner on.
After the completion of each run, you should:
Fill the fuel tank if it is close to one-half empty.
A daily inspection of the ambulance should include:
Checking the turn signals.
There are eight major phases of an ambulance call. Which of the following is not considered one of these phases?
Total quality review
The dispatcher should provide the ambulance crew with all of the following information EXCEPT the:
Destination hospital
An emergency vehicle operator:
Should remember that other drivers react differently to emergency vehicles.
When driving an ambulance to an emergency call, you must:
Exercise due regard for the safety of others.
Insulation in newer automobiles can reduce the interior decibel level of an approaching siren by _______ percent when parked.
35 to 40
Because the siren signals "emergency," it can create _______ for your patient.
A good deal of stress
Sometimes _______ are specially wired to flash alternately, and if they are a part of the emergency lighting system, they should be on whenever you are traveling to an emergency.
Headlights
When responding to the scene of a vehicle collision, park in front of or _______ the accident.
Beyond
Park your ambulance a minimum of 2,000 feet from a Hazardous material spill, uphill, and:
Upwind
When sizing up the scene of a rescue, you should:
Use binoculars to assess the scene from a safe distance.
Personal protective equipment for anyone involved in the patient extrication process should include:
Full turnout gear including coat, bunker pants, and steel-toed boots.
When access problems are encountered at the scene of a motor vehicle collision, you should:
Choose the window farthest from the patient if you must break a window to gain access.
The role of the EMT in vehicle stabilization and patient extrication is:
Patient care provider
Once you have access to the patient, you should:
Remain with the patient throughout the rescue.
The removal of a patient who is trapped in the wreckage of a vehicle should be accomplished:
By specially trained personnel.
Because every vehicle extrication is different in some way, common sense and _______________ are very important to the success of the procedure.
Improvisation
A simple access is when a rescuer gains access to a patient:
Without the use of tools.
Always make sure that you have _______________ prior to leaving a vehicle accident scene.
Searched the area for additional victims
If there is a downed power line across a vehicle involved in a collision, and patients are still in the vehicle, you should:
Advise the patients to stay inside the vehicle until the power company arrives.
The process of removing a patient from wreckage as rapidly and safely as possible is called:
Extrication.
Your highest priority in an emergency situation is the safety of yourself and:
Your partner
At a collision, evaluating hazards, calculating the need for additional personnel, and determining what will be needed to rescue a patient, are all part of:
Scene size up
The most frequent rescue problems encountered by EMTs are caused by:
Vehicle accidents
Full turnout gear for those involved in patient extrication includes coat, bunker pants, and ______ boots.
Steel-toed
At a collision scene, assume all downed power lines are:
Electrically charged
At a collision, what is the minimum distance traffic should be routed from a wreck?
50 feet
When power is restored to a downed electric line, the line may:
Whip
To gain access to a home when the front door is locked, you should first:
Check for another open door or window.
A(n) ______ access is one requiring the use of tools to reach a patient.
Complex
If it is necessary to disconnect a car's battery, cut or use a wrench to remove the _______ cable first.
Negative
If you must break a window to reach a patient, position a punch or tool in the lowest corner of the window ______ from the patient.
Farthest
After gaining access to a patient in a car crash, you should next:
Stabilize the patient's cervical spine.
The safest method of traffic control at a collision site is to stop all traffic and:
Direct drivers to alternate routes.
When a vehicle is in a secured position and can no longer move, rock, or bounce, it is considered:
Stable
When dealing with a trapped patient, you should provide the patient with _______ details about the extrication process.
Extensive
Reaching a patient by rolling down a window or opening a door is known as ______ access.
Simple
______ always precedes removal from a vehicle unless delay would endanger the life of the patient, EMS personnel, or other rescuers.
Patient care
To protect a patient trapped in a wrecked vehicle and EMTs helping the patient from flying glass and debris, use heavy blankets, a tarp, or a ______ cover.
Salvage
At a collision scene, look for patients both at the site of the emergency and in:
Any nearby vegetation.
The two main components of NIMS are:
Flexibility and standardization.
A multiple-casualty incident (MCI) is defined as any incident:
That places excessive demands on personnel and equipment.
When first on the scene of an MCI, you should call for help:
As soon as you encounter the incident.
The incident command system:
Uses representatives from EMS, fire, and law enforcement to make decisions regarding the management of the MCI.
EMS units established at MCIs include the:
Staging unit
Which of the following is not part of the management of MCIs?
Sending all patients to one hospital so everyone knows where they are
Secondary triage is used:
To reevaluate the treatment priorities made during primary triage.
What does the triage-related mnemonic START mean?
Simple triage and rapid transport
Your initial assessment of patients at an MCI differs from that of a single patient. Which of the following is correct regarding MCI triage and initial assessment?
The only initial treatment that should be done is airway management and control of severe bleeding.
The JumpSTART triage system is intended for patients between the ages of:
1 to 8 years
You are the first EMS person on scene after an explosion in a crowded mall. You begin triaging the wounded and come across a 12-year-old girl with open fractures in both legs. Her respiration rate is 28 breaths per minute and her capillary refill time is
Yellow
There are typically three triage levels. These include:
High priority, which includes airway and breathing difficulties and severe bleeding.
Which of the following is true regarding the treatment unit?
Triage is ongoing, and patients may be moved from one area to another if their condition deteriorates.
The transportation unit officer ensures that ambulances are accessible. Which of the following is true regarding the transportation unit?
High-priority patients should be transported first, immediately after treatment.
In a _______________ there is a great disparity between casualties and resources.
Disaster
Any event, usually involving three or more patients, which places excessive demands on EMS personnel and equipment is labeled a ______ incident.
Multiple-casualty
The senior EMT who arrives at the scene of an MCI first assumes responsibility as the EMS:
Incident manager
A unified command system works best at an MCI that involves:
Multiple units from the same agency.
To provide an orderly means of decision making and execution of plans at the MCI scene, a number of EMS _______ are established.
Sectors
EMTs responding to the scene of an MCI should report to the:
Staging sector
The system for sorting patients to determine the order in which they will receive medical care or transport is called:
Triage
In a three-priority system, the lowest priority includes patients with:
Minor injuries
An officer in the _______ sector directs available ambulances to the treatment sector.
Staging
While other patients are waiting, the only initial treatments that should be done in the triage sector are airway management and:
Severe bleeding control
_______ is often experienced by rescuers as a result of an MCI.
Psychological stress
You can help to reduce stress during an MCI by:
Talking
A hazardous material is defined as:
Any material that poses a threat to life, health, or property.
A warning placard that is diamond-shaped, and divided into four smaller diamonds, is the:
NFPA 704 system.
The Chemical Manufacturer's Association operates a 24-hour service known as:
CHEMTREC.
Regulations governing the response to hazardous materials incidents were developed by OSHA and:
EPA
In order to respond more effectively to hazardous materials emergencies, most EMTs are trained to the level of:
First responder awareness.
Rescuers trained to the hazardous materials specialist level:
Provide command and support activities at the site of a hazardous materials incident.
One rule of hazardous materials rescue is to avoid contact with any unidentified material.One of the three general priorities to achieve that goal include:
Decontaminate clothing, equipment, and the vehicle.
Pre-incident planning should include:
A chain of command from each rescuer to the command officer.
Establishing _______________ should be an early priority at a hazardous materials incident.
Safety zones
The principle dangers presented by hazardous materials are toxicity, flammability, and:
Reactivity
The highest level of training for hazmat incidents under OSHA regulations is:
Hazardous materials specialist.
The _______ is where hazardous materials contamination is actually present.
Hot zone
An easily carried written reference that provides complete emergency instructions for more than a thousand hazardous materials is:
The North American Emergency Response Guide.
_______ is another valuable informational resource when dealing with hazardous materials incidents.
CHEMTREC
The regulations in "29 CFR 1910.120," published by _______, are meant to enhance the safety of rescuers and bring about a more effective response.
OSHA
Lifesaving emergency patient care is done in the ______ zone.
Warm
Avoid risking your life or health if the only threat at a hazardous materials emergency is to:
The environment
Triaging patients, performing necessary treatment, and stabilizing patients prior to transport are accomplished in the _______ zone.
Cold
All rescuers at a hazmat scene should have a thorough medical examination and _______ to treat any exposure-related injuries or illnesses.
Medical surveillance
Symptoms of most exposure-related illnesses typically manifest within _______ after the exposure.
Hours
Any clothing used in the _______ or warm zones must be left at the scene for proper clean-up.
Hot
Patients should be fully _______ before entering the cold zone.
Decontaminated
An internationally recognized system that uses a diamond-shaped symbol divided into four smaller diamonds, numbers, and colors used to identify potential danger, is (are) the:
NFPA 704
You arrive on scene at an outdoor music festival where many people have experienced a sudden onset of dyspnea, burning eyes, and respiratory distress. You step out of the ambulance and notice the smell of fresh-cut grass in the air. What should you suspec
A chemical weapon of mass destruction
The deadliest chemicals are classified as:
Nerve agents
Sulfur, lewisite, and phosgene oxime are all examples of:
Vesicants
Exposure to sarin gas can cause:
Immediate death
A sudden onset of malaise, fever, headache, vomiting, and backache with a rash that generally appears within 2 to 3 days indicates exposure to:
Smallpox
Weapons of mass destruction that contain toxins produced by living organisms are categorized as _______________ weapons.
Biological
_______________ weapons ignite certain elements that burn rapidly, causing violent air displacement.
Explosive
Taking _______________ can reduce the chances of developing thyroid cancer as a result of exposure to nuclear fallout.
Iodine tablets
_______________ cause the most significant damage to buildings.
Nuclear weapons
The four categories of biological agents used in weapons of mass destruction are biological toxins, encephalitis-like agents, pneumonia-like agents, and:
Other agents
Nuclear radiation is:
Colorless and odorless
Staphylococcus enterotoxin 13 is an example of a:
Biological toxin
The mechanism that causes the most deaths and injury associated with nuclear detonation is the:
Thermal burn
Biological, nuclear, incendiary, _______, and explosive are all types of weapons of mass destruction.
Chemical
A(n) _______ weapon can be concealed in the trunk of a car and yet can completely destroy ten city blocks while damaging many more.
Nuclear
Chemical agents, biological agents, and radiation are:
Difficult for EMS personnel to detect.
An explosive device that spreads radioactive material without a nuclear explosion is called a:
Dirty bomb
If a "weapons of mass destruction" incident is suspected, EMS personnel should:
Stay away from the scene
There are _______ main types (or categories) of chemical agents.
6
An inexpensive and easy-to-produce, yet extremely deadly, chemical agent is:
Cyanide
Phosgene is a chemical agent that injures the lungs and can be identified by:
Its scent of freshly mowed grass.
Agents that consist of toxins produced by living organisms are called:
Biological agents.
A biological agent capable of spreading through the population like a natural infection and potentially killing millions of people is called:
Ebola
The energy released when an unstable atom breaks apart is called:
Nuclear radiation
A nuclear explosion will cause two kinds of radiation exposure, primary and:
Fallout