A 50 year old man with diabetes has an altered mental status and is unable to tell you when he last ate or took his insulin. Your glucometer keeps malfunctioning and you are unable to determine his blood glucose level. Which of the following clinical sign
Deep and rapid breathing
A 58 year old man complains of chest discomfort and nausea. He is conscious and alert; his blood pressure is 140/90 mm Hg, his pulse is 104 beats/min, and his respirations are 16 breaths/min. Your partner has applied supplemental oxygen. Prior to assistin
Ask him what he takes, how much, and when he last took it.
A 60 year old man complains of chest pain. He is conscious and alert and denies shortness of breath. Which of the following questions would be the MOST appropriate to ask him?
Do you have any heart problems or take any medications?
A 70 year old female was recently discharged form the hospital following a total hip replacement. Today, she presents with restlessness, tachycardia, and a blood pressure of 100/64 mm Hg. Her skin is hot and moist. You should be MOST suspicious that she i
septic shock
A 71 year old make is semiconscious following a sudden, severe headache. There is vomitus on his face and his respirations are slow and shallow. The EMT must immediately:
perform oropharyngeal suctioning
A 73 year old man presents with a generalized rash, which he thinks may have been caused by an antibiotic that he recently began taking. He has a history of coronary artery disease, hypertension, and emphysema. He is conscious and alert, his blood pressur
administer oxygen if needed, transport the patient, and monitor him for signs of deterioration
Abdominal thrusts in a conscious child or adult with a severe upper airway obstruction are performed:
until he or she loses consciousness
An absence seizure is also referred to as a:
petit mal seizure
An EMT's primary responsibility to the patient who has been poisoned is to:
recognize that a poisoning occured
Calming and reassuring an anxious patient can be facilitated by:
maintaining eye contact with the patient whenever possible.
Common signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction include all the following, EXCEPT:
drying of the eyes
Enlargement of the liver is called:
hepatomegaly
Erosion of the protective layer of the stomach or duodenum secondary to over activity of digestive juices results in:
an ulcer
External bleeding from an extremity can usually be controlled initially by:
applying direct pressure
If you are exposed to a patient's blood or other bodily fluid, your first action should be to:
transfer care of the patient to another EMS provider
infants are often referred to as "belly breathers" because:
their rib cage is less rigid and the ribs sit horizontally
Observations made when forming a general impression of a patient would include all of the following, EXCEPT:
pulse strength
Patients with controlled diabetes experience polyuria because:
excess glucose in the blood is excreted by the kidneys
Prompt transport of a patient with a suspected AMI is important because:
the patient may be eligible to receive thrombolytic therapy
Relative to an adult's airway anatomy, the child's:
pharynx is smaller and less deeply curved.
Which of the following steps is NOT proper procedure when performing an emergency move?
Lifting the patient by the belt to move him or her
You are assessing a 49 year old man who, according to his wife, experienced a sudden, severe headache and then passed out. He is unresponsive and has slow, irregular breathing. His blood pressure is 190/94 mm Hg, and his pulse rate is 50 beats/min. His wi
a ruptured cerebral artery
You are dispatched to a residence for a 67 year old female who was awakened by shortness of breath and sharp chest pain. Her husband tells you that she was recently discharged from the hospital after having hip surgery. Your assessment reveals dried blood
acute pulmonary embolism
You are dispatched to a residence where a middle-aged man was found unconscious in his front yard. There are no witnesses who can tell you what happened. You find him in a prone position, his eyes are closed and he is not moving. Your FIRST action should
log roll him as a unit to supine position
You are treating a middle-aged man with chest discomfort. He has a history of three previous heart attacks and takes nitroglycerin as needed for chest pain. You have standing orders to administer aspirin to patients with suspected cardiac-related chest pa
confirm that the patient is not allergic to aspirin, give him the appropriate dose of aspirin, and document the time and dose given.
you have been working at the scene of a major building collapse for 8 hours. Many injured people are still being removed, and everyone is becoming frustrated and losing focus. This situation is MOST effectively managed by:
requesting a CISM team to provide on-scene peer support.
You have two patients who were involved in a motor vehicle crash when their SUV struck a tree - One with neck and back pain, and the other with a deformed left femur. The patient with the deformed femur states that he does not want to be placed on a hard
Immobilize the patient with neck and back pain on a long backboard and place him on the wheeled stretcher; place the patient with the deformed femur on a folding stretcher secured to the squad bench.
You respond to the scene of a motor vehicle collision. Upon arrival, you find the driver, a young female, sitting on the curb. She is confused; is in obvious respiratory distress; and has pale, moist skin. As your partner manually stabilizes her head, you
perform a detailed head-to-toe exam and prepare for immediate transport.
Your BEST protection against legal liability when a patient with decision-making capacity refuses EMS care and transport is to:
thoroughly document the entire event
Your partner, a veteran EMT with whom you have worked regularly for the past 4 year, seems unusually agitated during a call involving an elderly patient. Upon arrival back at your station, you note the obvious smell of alcohol on his breath. What should y
Discreetly report your suspicions to your supervisor.
The area of the spinal column, in descending order, are:
cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccyx
The left ventricle has the thickest walls because it:
pumps blood into the aorta and systemic circulation
Typical components of an oral patient report include all of the following, EXCEPT:
the set of baseline vital signs taken at the scene
What is the alveolar minute volume of a patient with a tidal volume of 500 ml, a dead space volume of 150 ml, and a respiratory rate of 16 breaths/min?
5,600 ml
When assessing an 80 year old patient in shock, it is important to remember that:
age-related changed in the cardiovascular system may make the patient less able to compensate for decreased perfusion.
When assessing for fluid collection in the lungs during auscultation of lung sounds, you should:
start at the lower lung fields and determine at which level you start hearing clear breath sounds.
When faced with a situation in which a patient is in cardiac arrest and a valid living will or DNR order cannot be located, you should:
begin resuscitation at once
When gathering a patient's medications, you find the following: Isordil, Lasix, Nexium, and digoxin. Which of these medications can be obtained over-the-counter(OTC)?
Nexium
When the shoulder girdle is aligned over the pelvis during lifting:
the weight is exerted straight down the vertebrae
Which of the following clinical signs is unique to anaphylactic shock?
Wheezing
Which of the following is NOT a BLS intervention?
Cardiac monitoring
Which of the following medication routes has the slowest rate of absorption?
oral
Which of the following scenarios is an example of informed consent?
An EMT advises a patient of the risks of receiving treatment
Which of the following skills or interventions is included at every level of prehospital emergency training?
Automated external defibrillation
Which of the following statements regarding gastrointestinal bleeding is correct?
Bleeding within the gastrointestinal tract is a symptom of another disease, not a disease itself.
Which of the following statements regarding hepatitis A is correct?
Hepatitis A can only be transmitted by a patient who has an acute infection.
Which of the following statements regarding smooth muscle is correct?
A person has no voluntary control over smooth muscle
Which of the following statements regarding the different stages of the grieving process is correct?
The stages of the grieving process may occur simultaneously
Which of the following statements regarding the EMS medical director and an EMT's scope of practice is correct?
An EMT's scope of practice may be expanded by the medical director after proper training and state approval.
Which of the following statements regarding ventricular fibrillation (V-fib) is correct?
V-fib results in an absence of forward blood flow.