You have worked with the same partner for several years and know him well. Over the past three months the two of you have had four horrific pediatric calls with death as the outcome of each. Which observation would make you the most suspicious that your p
Excessive and uncharacteristic irritability
A 38-year-old male is complaining of generalized weakness and fatigue. Assessment findings include abdominal pain, fever, and yellowing of the eyes. Given these signs and symptoms, you would be suspicious of:
hepatitis
You have been called to a home for an alert and oriented female with terminal lung cancer. At the home, the daughter, who is her mother's durable power of attorney, states that she wants her mother transported to the hospital. The patient, who is alert an
I know that you are the durable power of attorney, but your mother is alert and oriented so we cannot legally take her against her will.
Immediately after giving a prehospital care report to the nurse in the emergency department, dispatch informs you that there are no more ambulances available and you must immediately leave the hospital to cover another portion of the county. Since your se
complete an abbreviated transfer-of-care form
Which phrase best illustrates the EMT using the summary technique of therapeutic communication?
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A patient has developed chest pain while working in his wood shop. After assessing and providing care to the patient, the chest pain remains, although his vital signs are normal. To get him to the ambulance, the EMTs must first go up a short flight of sta
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Which of the following statements about the ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) ratio in a healthy person is true?
The upper portion of the lungs has more ventilation than blood flow.
Five minutes have passed since you assisted in the delivery of a full-term baby boy. Based on your knowledge of physiological changes in the neonate, which would be most concerning?
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You are starting to ventilate a patient with a laryngectomy and stoma. As you provide the first few ventilations, you note that the air passes easily into the patient, but does not cause the chest to rise. Your next action should be to:
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You are by the side of a 77-year-old male with the complaint of shortness of breath. Auscultation of his lungs indicates crackles in the bases. In addition, both of his feet are swollen. His SpO2 on room air is 82% and the remainder of his vitals are: pul
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The EMT is correctly accessing for accessory muscle use when he examines what part of the body?
chest
An alert and oriented patient presents with shortness of breath, crackles in both lungs, jugular venous distention, and edema to the feet and ankles. Her pulse is 132, respirations 26, blood pressure 160/86, and SpO2 at 88%. Based on this, the EMT should
chf
To save additional heart muscle from dying when a patient suffers an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), what treatment must occur?
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Which of the following scene size-up observations would make you suspicious that a patient complaining of shortness of breath is suffering from congestive heart failure?
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You have been called for a 63-year-old woman with slurred speech and right-arm weakness. On arrival, the patient informs you that the slurred speech and weakness have resolved. Since your assessment reveals no deficits, the patient insists on signing a re
TIA is likely to lead to a stroke
You are getting the past medical history of a patient who suffered the sudden onset of right-side weakness. Which one of the following statements made by the patient should you recognize as increasing the patient's risk of stroke?
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A 41-year-old female has called 911 for a headache. What assessment finding should make the EMT suspicious that the patient is suffering from a vascular headache?
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Which statement indicates that the EMT understands airway management in a patient suffering from anaphylaxis?
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How should an EMT assist a patient in taking his epinephrine auto-injector?
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The grandfather of an alert and oriented 2-year-old girl found her on the floor playing with pills from his open bottle of Digoxin (heart medication that slows the rate). He cannot remember how many pills were in the bottle, but he thinks that some are mi
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You are treating a male patient who is hypothermic. What should you do to decrease heat loss caused by radiation?
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You have been asked to present information on water safety and drowning to a community civic group. In regards to prevention, which of the following points would you emphasize?
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A patient has been pulled from a pool in which he was submerged for several minutes. He is pulseless and apneic. An Emergency Medical Responder asks you if you want to press on the man's abdomen to remove the water from his stomach. Which one of the follo
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A young male has been pulled from a lake by his friends after being submerged for several minutes. Assessment reveals his airway to be patent, respirations absent, and a weak carotid pulse of 12 beats per minute. At this time, you should:
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Your patient is a young man who fell down a flight of stairs and is now restless and confused. His airway is open, and he is breathing adequately at 18 times per minute. He has a radial pulse of 92 beats per minute and his skin is cool and diaphoretic. Yo
administer supplemental oxygen.
A young female was involved in an altercation and stabbed in the abdomen with an ice pick. After being stabbed, she quickly removed the ice pick. She states that there was not much bleeding but does say it "stings" quite a bit. Assessment reveals a small
Assessing for internal blood loss or shock
A 21-year-old male has sustained a severe burn to his left leg while working on an industrial furnace. Coworkers immediately doused his flaming pants and removed them. Your primary assessment reveals no threats to the airway, breathing, or circulation. Wh
Partial-thickness burn completely encircling the knee
A patient, who is coughing, has suffered a superficial burn to the chest, arms, and face after pouring gasoline on a smoldering campfire. Which one of the following statements indicates that the EMT is properly caring for him?
Throughout transport, I am going to listen to your lungs quite frequently.
Firefighters have just pulled a young woman from a house fire and have laid her on the lawn. She is conscious and badly burned on the chest, abdomen, and legs. Her clothes are smoldering. Which one of the following actions should the EMT take immediately?
Cool the burn with water.
The rapid secondary assessment of a male patient who was ejected from a motorcycle indicates instability and pain on palpation to the pelvic area. What is the EMT's primary concern related to this injury?
Internal blood loss
Firefighters are extricating the driver of a small car that was struck broadside by a delivery truck at a moderate rate of speed. The patient was unrestrained, and the car sustained severe damage to the driver's side. As the man is pulled from the car, yo
conduct a rapid secondary assessment.
A patient who fell out of a tree has an open skull injury. Which of the following inquiry descriptions would fit this description?
Obvious deformity to the right side of the skull with a laceration to the overlying scalp
A young female patient involved in a motor vehicle collision responds to painful stimuli by extending her arms and legs. Her airway is open and breathing shallow and irregular. A radial pulse that is moderate in strength is palpated. Her pulse is 64 beats
start positive pressure ventilation at 20 breaths per minute.
For a person to make a fist, which one of the following must occur?
The central nervous system must send a message through the spinal cord and then to the peripheral nerves.
For which of the following patients involved in a motor vehicle collision is the use of a vest-type short immobilization device indicated?
33-year-old female in the backseat who states that her neck hurts and she has a headache
When assessing a male patient who was punched in the face by another man, you detect blood in the white part of his eye. As such, you would recognize injury to what optical structure?
Sclera
A patient has been splashed in the face with battery acid. He is complaining of being unable to see anything and severe burning to his face. You observe him holding both eyes tightly shut with significant burns on his cheeks and eyelids. In this situation
after assessing the patient's radial pulse.
An elderly woman is suffering from a closed head injury after falling down five steps. She is responsive to painful stimuli and is breathing shallowly. When evaluating her airway, you note that she has both upper and lower dentures. Her upper dentures are
remove the lower dentures.
A construction worker complains of pain to both eyes after an extended period spent welding on a gas well. The light is bothering him and he rates the pain as a 10/10. He states that this occurred once before and was caused by the light of his welding too
I do not think that we will need to provide supplemental oxygen.
A young male patient has been involved in a motor vehicle accident. As an unrestrained driver, his head went through the driver's side window; in the process a portion of his ear was severed. Blood is now coming from the remaining portion of his left ear.
Rolled gauze in the ear canal
A 23-year-old male struck his face on the steering wheel after he struck another car from behind. His nose is deformed and actively bleeding. In his care, which of the following would be a priority?
Suctioning the airway to keep it free of blood
A construction foreman was stabbed with a screwdriver in the right anterior chest by an angry employee. Prior to your arrival, he removed the screwdriver. He is alert and oriented and complaining of pain to the injury site. Your primary assessment reveals
Evaluate the patient SpO2 level.
You are transporting an elderly female who fell in a nursing home and displays outward rotation of her left leg. She has a lengthy medical history, including dementia. Currently, she is very quiet and receiving oxygen through a nasal cannula at 6 liters p
apply a nonrebreather.
A 37-year-old woman, who is four months pregnant, is complaining of abdominal and pelvic pain after being assaulted in her home by a live-in boyfriend. During the assault, he struck her in the head, chest, and abdomen with his fists and a chair as she lay
Application of a nonrebreather with high-concentration oxygen
An 85-year-old male with a history of an irregular heartbeat, diabetes, renal failure, and stroke fell getting out of bed, striking his head on the nightstand. He is alert and oriented and denies complaint. Vital signs are all within normal limits. There
Determining if he takes blood thinners for the irregular heartbeat
When assessing the central pulse of a young child, the EMT would palpate the:
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A new EMT asks you why the elderly are at a higher risk for developing pneumonia, as compared to those of a younger age. You inform him that the elderly are more susceptible to respiratory infections because of a(n):
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You have been called for a geriatric patient with advanced dementia. The staff at the skilled nursing facility believes her to be suffering from a urinary tract infection. At bedside, you find her to be confused and aggressive. She is on constant oxygen a
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The high pressure alarm is sounding on a home ventilator. As your partner prepares the bag-valve mask, you quickly determine that no problem exists with the machine itself. As positive pressure ventilation is initiated, you note high resistance to the ven
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A combat veteran patient with a history of severe PTSD states that he has a headache that feels worse than any other he has ever had. The patient is alert and oriented with no threats to the airway, breathing, or circulation. His vital signs are: pulse 68
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You arrived on scene of a local restaurant and encounter a highly agitated combat veteran who is yelling at patrons. Given the public nature of the scene and a known history of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which of the following statements indic
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If a patient has a clot occluding the blood flow through his left coronoary artery, which one of the following will occur first?
The flow of oxygen-rich blood to muscle of the left ventricle will be decreased.
If a patient has a clot occluding the blood flow through his left coronoary artery, which one of the following will occur first?
The flow of oxygen-rich blood to muscle of the left ventricle will be decreased.
Which one of the following best illustrates the primary purpose of the modern-day EMS system?
Decrease the incidence of death and/or disability related to injury and illness