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Q:
When giving a radio report to the hospital, which of the following would be the first patient-specific information provided?
A) The patient is complaining of chest pain.
B) The patient has taken nitroglycerin.
C) The patient is a 55-year-old male.
D) The patient is having a heart attack.
Q:
You are transporting a city councilman to the hospital after he injured his shoulder playing basketball at his gym. His left shoulder is swollen, deformed, and bruised. There is pain and tingling when the patient attempts to use his hand. He has a pulse of 92 per minute, a respiratory rate of 20 per minute, and a blood pressure of 132/88 mmHg. Which of the following should NOT be included in the radio report?
A) The appearance of the shoulder
B) Notification that extra security is needed for a VIP
C) How the injury occurred
D) Vital signs
Q:
Why is it important to notify medical control as soon as practical about your patient's condition?
A) It provides legal protection as patient care now becomes their responsibility.
B) It allows the receiving facility more time to prepare for your arrival.
C) It is common courtesy.
D) It minimizes the chance that you will forget to contact medical control.
Q:
How many parts does a standard medical radio report have as described in your textbook?
A) 12
B) 8
C) 5
D) 10
Q:
Why is it important that your radio report to the receiving facility be concise?
A) The emergency department needs to know quickly and accurately the patient's condition.
B) You do not want to bore the nurse receiving your report.
C) You want to make sure the doctor approves your medical order request.
D) You want to appear professional.
Q:
Which of the following is NOT appropriate for inclusion in the radio report to the receiving hospital?
A) Physical exam findings
B) The patient's mental status
C) Name of the patient's health insurance provider
D) Pertinent past illnesses
Q:
You have received the following order from medical control: "Administer one tablet of nitroglycerin under the patient's tongue." Which of the following is the BEST response?
A) "Roger, order received."
B) "Order received. One nitroglycerin tablet under the patient's tongue."
C) "Clear. Will advise of any changes in patient's condition."
D) "Copy. Administering medication now."
Q:
Which of the following is NOT part of a medical radio report?
A) Estimated time of arrival
B) Address at which the patient was located
C) Unit identification
D) Patient's response to medical care provided
Q:
You have an urgent transmission you need to make to the dispatch center. Which of the following is the appropriate way to communicate this?
A) Interrupt less urgent radio traffic to get your message across.
B) Speak loudly to convey the urgency of the message.
C) Listen to the frequency first to avoid stepping on another transmission.
D) Use the phrase, "Attention, attention, I have priority traffic."
Q:
Why is it important to NOT give the name or Social Security number of your patient over the ambulance radio when contacting medical control?
A) It is illegal.
B) Someone may steal the patient's identity.
C) Someone may know the patient and tell the patient's friends.
D) It is unnecessary.
Q:
Which of the following information does NOT need to be provided to the dispatcher?
A) Estimated time of arrival at the hospital
B) Which hospital you are transporting to
C) When you depart from the hospital
D) When you arrive at the hospital
Q:
During your radio report to the hospital, which of the following pieces of information should NOT be relayed?
A) Patient's age
B) Baseline vital signs
C) Patient's name
D) Patient's status
Q:
Which of the following is NOT considered a principle of proper radio usage in EMS?
A) Speak with your lips 2 to 3 inches from the microphone.
B) Speak as quickly as possible.
C) Use plain English.
D) Make sure the radio is on before speaking.
Q:
Which of the following agencies assigns and licenses radio frequencies?
A) United States Department of Transportation
B) Transportation Security Administration
C) Federal Trade Commission
D) Federal Communications Commission
Q:
You are en route to the hospital with a 22-year-old male patient who has suffered a very embarrassing injury to his genitalia. Which method of contacting the receiving facility will afford the patient the most privacy?
A) Using the handheld radio
B) Using the ambulance radio but not using the patient's name
C) Using the ambulance radio but not providing details of the injury
D) Providing the receiving hospital with all information via a cell phone
Q:
A major tornado has hit the neighboring town, knocking down power lines and injuring several people. What will provide the best chance to give your patient report to the receiving facility?
A) Cell phone at the scene
B) Landline at the patient's house
C) Ambulance mobile radio
D) Portable radio at the residence
Q:
Which of the following BEST describes a repeater?
A) A two-way radio that is mounted in a vehicle
B) A two-way radio that can be carried on a belt clip
C) A device that receives and amplifies a signal that must be carried over long distances
D) A two-way radio at a fixed site
Q:
Which of the following BEST describes a portable radio?
A) A device that receives and amplifies signals that must be sent over long distances
B) A two-way radio that is mounted in a vehicle
C) A two-way radio at a fixed site
D) A two-way radio that can be carried on a belt clip
Q:
Which of the following BEST describes a mobile radio?
A) A two-way radio that can be carried on a belt clip
B) A two-way radio that is mounted in a vehicle
C) A two-way radio at a fixed site
D) A device that receives and amplifies signals that must be sent over a long distance
Q:
Which of the following BEST describes a base station?
A) A two-way radio at a fixed site
B) A device used to receive and then amplify transmissions that must be carried over long distances
C) A two-way radio mounted in a vehicle
D) A two-way radio that can be carried on a belt clip
Q:
A list of potential diagnoses compiled early in the patient's assessment is known as which of the following?
A) Emergency medical diagnosis
B) Assessment-based diagnosis
C) Differential diagnosis
D) Traditional diagnosis
Q:
Of the following, which would most likely give the best information regarding your patient's mental status?
A) Pulse and respiratory rate
B) List of allergies
C) List of medications
D) Last oral intake
Q:
Your elderly patient reports having stomach cramps for several hours. He denies any trauma and he hasn't eaten for several hours. Which of the following is more important to your assessment of this patient?
A) Asking if he has been having regular bowel movements
B) Determining if he has been taking his medications as prescribed
C) Finding out if he has any chest pain
D) Asking him if he is able to walk
Q:
Which of the following situations is most likely to result in hidden or unsuspected injury?
A) Deformity of the interior compartment of the vehicle
B) A vehicle without air bags
C) Seat belt use by the vehicle occupants
D) Collisions that occur at night
Q:
A description of a patient's condition that assists a clinician in further evaluation and treatment is known as which of the following?
A) Red flag
B) Critical thinking
C) Diagnosis
D) Clinical decision
Q:
Expert clinicians may use different approaches of thinking through problems, but which of the following will they have in common?
A) Knowledge that one strategy works for everyone
B) Strong foundation of knowledge
C) Dislike of ambiguity
D) Organization of data in their head
Q:
Which of the following describes skepticism about one thing causing another?
A) Availability
B) Illusory correlation
C) Representativeness
D) Confirmation bias
Q:
"If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duckexcept when it isn't" is a way to summarize which of the following?
A) Representativeness
B) Illusory correlation
C) Overconfidence
D) Confirmation bias
Q:
Which of the following is one advantage of using heuristics?
A) It provides a more accurate diagnosis.
B) It speeds up the process of diagnosis.
C) It allows you to treat the patient during diagnosis.
D) It slows the process of diagnosis.
Q:
________ are signs or symptoms that suggest the possibility of a particular problem that is very serious.
A) Pertinent negatives
B) Differentials
C) Red flags
D) All of the above
Q:
While an EMT forms a field diagnosis on the scene of an emergency, how do the steps differ from the traditional approach to diagnosis?
A) The EMT forms a field diagnosis within the first few minutes of the call to formulate treatment as quickly as possible.
B) Due to the limited time spent with the patient, the EMT must rely on a differential diagnosis.
C) The EMT must rule in or out the most serious conditions associated with the patient's presentation.
D) The EMT does not have time to form a differential diagnosis and must rely on prior experience when treating a patient.
Q:
The process by which an EMT forms a field diagnosis is known as:
A) critical thinking.
B) differential thinking.
C) clinical thinking.
D) diagnostic thinking.
Q:
An EMT's assessment differs from an assessment made in the emergency department in which way?
A) An EMT's focus is on life threats first.
B) Time is available in the emergency department to make a diagnosis.
C) The emergency physician is concerned with scene safety.
D) The EMT is working with limited resources.
Q:
You respond to a motor vehicle collision and find a patient with an altered mental status and angulated left femur; the other driver is deceased. Your closest trauma center is 45 minutes away. Which of the following would you do next?
A) Apply a traction splint.
B) Request ALS personnel.
C) Transport the patient to a local medical clinic for evaluation by a physician.
D) Perform a detailed physical exam.
Q:
You are on the scene of a 16-year-old patient in respiratory distress. The patient has a history of asthma. After placing the patient on oxygen and performing the primary and secondary assessments, you are confident that the patient is indeed having an asthma attack. How can you be sure your field diagnosis is accurate?
A) Keep your EMT textbook with you on the ambulance and review it to confirm your diagnosis.
B) Ask your partner her opinion; if she also agrees that it is asthma, the diagnosis is correct.
C) Constantly reassess the patient to make sure you are correct.
D) Think of all possible causes of respiratory distress and rule them in or out as potential diagnoses based on your clinical findings.
Q:
You are on the scene in the bad part of town for an unresponsive 18-year-old type 1 diabetic patient. His mother states that he is very noncompliant with his diabetes management and goes unresponsive often due to low blood sugar. After performing the primary assessment, you believe that this is the most likely cause of his unresponsiveness. However, after taking a capillary glucose reading you are surprised to see that the patient's sugar level is normal. How will you now determine the field impression?
A) Recognize that the mother was lying to you. The patient is not diabetic and you now must assume that everything she told you is wrong.
B) You cannot make a correct diagnosis in the field because you cannot perform all the necessary tests with your limited scope of practice.
C) Recognize that the mother is probably trying to protect her son from jail. Tell her that it is critical that she tell you what drugs he actually took.
D) Continue patient care by getting a complete SAMPLE history and perform a complete secondary assessment.
Q:
You and another EMT are discussing a call he previously ran. The EMT said the patient had classic chest pain symptoms and he treated it as a possible heart attack, but he later found out the patient just had indigestion and was discharged 2 hours later. The EMT was concerned that his patient assessment skills were not as good as they should be, and that the ED physician will no longer trust his judgment. How should you respond to his concerns?
A) Tell him that his misdiagnosis is a common EMT mistake caused by illusionary correlation.
B) Tell him that his misdiagnosis is a result of anchoring.
C) Tell him that his misdiagnosis is a result of confirmation bias.
D) Tell him that his misdiagnosis is a result of limited information.
Q:
You are transporting a patient whom you are treating for chest pain. You have completed all of your assessments and are writing down some of his personal information such as his address and phone number. As the patient is speaking, you notice that he is having increasing difficulty breathing. You should:
A) get a quick set of vital signs.
B) call the hospital and report the difficulty.
C) immediately repeat your primary assessment.
D) call for ALS backup.
Q:
Your patient is an 18-year-old female whom you believe may have had a miscarriage and is bleeding heavily. You have completed your primary and secondary assessments and now you need to reassess her to see if the bleeding has stopped. You should:
A) ask her to check herself to see if she is still bleeding.
B) in a reassuring tone, explain what you need to do.
C) wait and let the hospital staff reassess the bleeding.
D) take another set of vital signs to see if her blood pressure has dropped.
Q:
While transporting a patient to the hospital, the EMT repeats his reassessment including vital signs every 15 minutes until he arrives at the emergency department. According to this information, which of the following BEST describes your patient's current status?
A) Poor
B) Stable
C) Unstable
D) Not enough information was given to answer this question.
Q:
You are transporting a patient who has had her neck slashed from side to side. You and your partner are caring for the patient while a police officer drives you to the hospital, which is minutes away. You are focusing all of your efforts to maintain her airway and your partner is controlling her bleeding. Which of the following will you be unlikely to obtain?
A) Primary assessment
B) Patient's gender
C) Reassessment results
D) Pulse and respiratory rates
Q:
You are caring for a woman who sustained a head injury as a result of a domestic dispute. You suspect she has a closed head injury since she cannot remember what happened and one of her pupils is slightly larger than the other. You have been monitoring her vital signs every 5 minutes and you see that her blood pressure is rising and her pulse is dropping. This part of the assessment is called:
A) trending.
B) modified secondary assessment.
C) crisis management.
D) intervention check.
Q:
Under what circumstance should a reassessment NOT be performed?
A) The patient is being transported to a hospital close to his home.
B) Ongoing lifesaving interventions are required.
C) The patient has life-threatening injuries.
D) The patient does not receive a secondary assessment.
Q:
Your patient is a 23-year-old male with a stab wound to the abdomen. You have bandaged the wound and are transporting the patient to a trauma center. During your reassessment, you note that the bandage has become soaked with blood. What should your priority be with this patient?
A) Notify the receiving facility that the patient has developed arterial bleeding.
B) Control the bleeding.
C) Place the patient in the Trendelenburg position.
D) Check the patient's blood pressure.
Q:
On which of the following patients should a reassessment be performed?
A) All patients should be reassessed
B) Patient with chest pain
C) Patient with a gunshot wound
D) Patient having difficulty breathing
Q:
You have a long transport of a patient who may have sustained a spinal injury. The patient has been stable throughout your transport. During one of your reassessments, your patient tells you that he is losing the feeling in his feet and toes and his fingers are tingling. At this point you should:
A) spinal immobilize him.
B) call medical direction for orders.
C) reassess him every 5 minutes.
D) remove him from the long spine board.
Q:
You are alone in the back of the ambulance, where you are ventilating an apneic patient. Which of the following is the BEST way to manage the reassessment?
A) Have your partner stop the ambulance every 5 minutes to help you perform a reassessment.
B) Stay on the scene and request additional help so you will have someone to help you perform a reassessment.
C) Continue ventilating the patient during transport and skip the reassessment.
D) Stop ventilating the patient every 5 minutes so you can perform a reassessment.
Q:
You are transporting a victim of domestic violence, a 25-year-old female, who was struck on the head several times with a baseball bat. On the scene, she was responsive to verbal stimuli and was bleeding profusely from an open head wound. During transport the patient becomes unresponsive. Which of the following should you do next?
A) Primary assessment
B) Secondary assessment
C) Detailed physical exam
D) Vital signs and SAMPLE history
Q:
You are transporting a 30-year-old male who has been shot in the chest. He is suffering from a sucking chest wound and has a decreased level of consciousness. How often should you perform a reassessment?
A) Every 30 minutes
B) Every 5 minutes
C) Every 15 minutes
D) Every 10 minutes
Q:
As you arrive at the emergency department with an unresponsive trauma patient, the nurse asks for your trending assessment. Why is this information important to the nurse?
A) She can critique your technique of taking vital signs.
B) She can evaluate whether or not the patient is improving.
C) She can determine if you understand the assessment process.
D) She can evaluate the quality of care you provided.
Q:
You are transporting a 20-year-old soccer player who injured his ankle during a match. His injury appears to be isolated and he has no significant past medical history. How frequently should you perform a reassessment on this patient?
A) 30 minutes
B) 15 minutes
C) 5 minutes
D) 10 minutes
Q:
You are treating a 15-year-old boy who apparently broke his right arm when he fell while skateboarding with his friends. You have completed your primary and secondary assessment including splinting his arm, but you found no other injuries or problems. Which of the following is the most important step to do during the reassessment?
A) Place the patient on oxygen via nasal cannula.
B) Check distal circulation on his right arm.
C) Recheck his pupils.
D) Visualize his chest for bruising.
Q:
________ is reassessing and recording findings of the reassessment so they can be compared to earlier findings.
A) CQI
B) Trending
C) Averaging
D) Analysis
Q:
Your patient's initial vital signs were a pulse of 120 per minute and weak, a blood pressure of 90/50 mmHg, and a respiratory rate of 24 per minute. Upon reassessment, you note that the patient now has a weak pulse of 100 per minute, a blood pressure of 110/60 mmHg, and a respiratory rate of 20 per minute. Which of the following can you conclude from this information?
A) The patient will survive.
B) You can transport the patient to a lower level trauma center.
C) The baseline vital signs were inaccurate.
D) The patient's condition may be improving.
Q:
You are called for an alert patient with respiratory distress. As part of your primary assessment, you place the patient on oxygen via nasal cannula at 2 liters per minute. You continue with the rest of your assessment including taking a set of vital signs. During your reassessment, you notice that the patient's respiratory rate has increased to 24 times per minute and he is having increasing trouble breathing. You should:
A) call medical direction for orders to administer his inhaler.
B) increase the flow rate of the nasal cannula to 4 liters per minute.
C) assist the patient's breathing with a bag-valve mask.
D) switch your patient to a nonrebreather mask at 15 liters per minute.
Q:
Your patient called 911 because he was having chest pain. He states that his pain is a 7 on a 10-point scale. As part of your care, you assist him with taking his nitroglycerin per medical direction. After waiting a few minutes for the medication to take effect, you should:
A) ask him what his pain is like now.
B) administer another dose of nitroglycerin.
C) lay the head of the stretcher down.
D) call medical direction to administer another dose.
Q:
You are called for a 58-year-old male who is concerned that his blood pressure is too high. He tells you that he has had a headache and is feeling a little dizzy. You notice that his skin is flushed and feels warm to the touch. As you finish taking his vital signs, you should:
A) begin your reassessment.
B) write down the patient's vital signs.
C) move the patient to the ambulance for transport.
D) assist the patient to take his blood pressure medication.
Q:
You are treating a 57-year-old male for chest pain. You have gathered all pertinent history of present illness, completed two sets of vital signs, talked with medical direction, and assisted the patient with two doses of his nitroglycerin. Determination of whether or not the nitroglycerin was effective is assessed during the:
A) primary assessment.
B) secondary assessment.
C) reassessment.
D) primary and secondary assessment.
Q:
During reassessment you notice that your patient is making gurgling sounds. Which of the following should you do immediately?
A) Assist ventilations with a bag-valve-mask device.
B) Place the patient in the recovery position.
C) Suction the airway.
D) Increase the amount of oxygen being delivered to the patient.
Q:
What is the first step in the reassessment process?
A) Secondary assessment
B) Primary assessment
C) Vital signs
D) Focused history and physical exam
Q:
When using the memory aid SAMPLE, which of the following would you do to determine L?
A) Look at the patient's pupils.
B) Ask, "When was the last time you took your medicine?"
C) Listen to the patient's lung sounds.
D) Ask, "When was the last time you had anything to eat or drink?"
Q:
You are called for a patient who reports a headache for several days. He tells you that he has started a new blood pressure medication and is finishing an antibiotic for a skin infection. During your history taking, you should:
A) write down the pertinent facts.
B) get your patient to repeat his chief complaint.
C) suggest that he take some aspirin.
D) suspect an allergic reaction.
Q:
While assessing the past medical history of a 68-year-old male patient involved in a fall from a 4-foot stepladder, you use the acronym SAMPLE. What does the A refer to?
A) Assessment
B) Acuity
C) Allergies
D) Amputations
Q:
You have performed a rapid trauma assessment on a patient with multiple long-bone injuries. Your next assessment step should be which of the following?
A) Perform a detailed physical exam.
B) Transport the patient to the hospital and perform a detailed physical exam.
C) Call the ALS unit to determine their ETA before deciding your next step.
D) Obtain baseline vital signs and past medical history.
Q:
You have responded for a patient with shortness of breath. He reports that his breathing problems began this morning and have gotten worse over the last few hours. You ask if he has taken anything to help his symptoms and he tells you that he has used his inhaler several times in the last hour. The information you have just gathered can be classified as:
A) the history of present illness.
B) relevant past medical history.
C) results of a rapid physical exam.
D) part of the SAMPLE history.
Q:
When assessing a patient's pertinent past history, you should ask which of the following questions?
A) Are you currently taking any medications?
B) Have you been having any medical problems?
C) Have you ever had a reaction to a medication?
D) Could you describe what happened?
Q:
Mr. Green is complaining of severe difficulty breathing after being stung by a bee. His wife states he has had reactions to bee stings before, but not quite this severe. Which medications should you specifically ask him about?
A) Antihistamines
B) Inhaler
C) Nitroglycerine tablets
D) Epinephrine auto-injector
Q:
You are on the scene of a patient who is the victim of an assault. The scene is safe. You find a 22-year-old male patient responsive to painful stimuli only. His blood pressure is 180/80, pulse is 60, respirations are 12, and his oxygen saturation is 95% on room air. How would you classify this patient?
A) Stable. The patient does not have hypotension.
B) Unstable. The patient is hypertensive.
C) Stable. The patient's pulse, respirations, and oxygen saturation are within normal limits.
D) Unstable. The patient is responsive to painful stimuli only.
Q:
Your patient is a 14-year-old male who was run over by a tractor and is now unresponsive. During the rapid assessment, you should look for clear drainage coming from the patient's ________ indicating a serious injury.
A) eyes
B) ears
C) rectum
D) mouth
Q:
An unconscious trauma patient should always be assumed to have which of the following types of injury?
A) Cardiac
B) Spine
C) Skull
D) Abdominal
Q:
Your patient is the 18-year-old male driver of a vehicle that struck a tree. He is conscious and complaining of neck pain. The passenger is obviously dead. You have performed your primary assessment. Which of the following is the next step?
A) Immobilize the patient on a long backboard and perform a detailed examination in the ambulance.
B) Rule out the possibility of cervical spine injury before moving the patient.
C) Perform a tertiary assessment.
D) Perform a rapid trauma assessment.
Q:
You are assessing a 21-year-old female who was assaulted by an unknown person. She is complaining of abdominal pain. As you perform a rapid assessment of her abdomen, you should check for all of the following except:
A) bowel sounds.
B) firmness.
C) distention.
D) contusions.
Q:
Which of the following is NOT a purpose of a rapid trauma assessment?
A) To detect injuries that may become life threatening
B) To provide a basis for care during transport
C) To assess the extent of injuries
D) To focus care on specific injuries
Q:
Which of the following is another term for trauma?
A) Suffering
B) Injury
C) Medical problem
D) Illness
Q:
Your patient was struck in the chest with a baseball bat during a bar fight. A crackling or crunching sensation that is felt when air escapes from its normal passageways and is trapped under the skin is called:
A) friction rub.
B) crepitus.
C) infiltration.
D) subcutaneous emphysema.
Q:
In medical terms, bruises are known as which of the following?
A) Abrasion
B) Discoloration
C) Blemish
D) Contusion
Q:
Your patient is a 45-year-old female who complains of "twisting her ankle" when she slipped on a patch of ice. Which of the following is NOT appropriate?
A) Questioning about any other complaints or areas of pain
B) Secondary assessment
C) Providing emotional support, if necessary
D) Detailed physical exam
Q:
You respond to the scene of a motor vehicle crash to find a middle-aged man on a long spine board being cared for by first responding firefighters. He appears to be bleeding from his head and he is unconscious. You should check the car for:
A) a bent steering wheel or starred windshield.
B) insurance information or identification.
C) personal items too valuable to leave on-scene.
D) a deployed passenger-side air bag.
Q:
Immediately following a rapid physical exam on an unresponsive medical patient, which of the following should you do next?
A) Obtain baseline vital signs.
B) Check the scene for medications.
C) Find out who the patient's doctor is.
D) Perform a focused physical exam.
Q:
Your patient is an unresponsive 40-year-old woman. Which of the following should you do first?
A) Immediately request advanced life support.
B) Perform a rapid physical exam.
C) Ask her husband if she has any known allergies.
D) Take her blood pressure.