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Exam 1 Review

Terms in this set (200)

Continuing education in EMS serves to:
Maintain, update, and expand the EMT's knowledge and skills.
EMS as we know it today had its origins in 1966 with the publication of:
Accidental Death and Disability: The Neglected Disease of Modern Society.
EMT training in nearly every state meets or exceeds the guidelines recommended by the:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Obtaining continuing medical education is the responsibility of the:
individual EMT
The continuous quality improvement (CQI) process is designed to:
identify areas of improvement and provide remedial training if needed.
The person who is responsible for authorizing EMTs to perform emergency medical care in the field is the:
medical director
Which type of medical direction do standing orders and protocols describe?
off-line
Why are prehospital emergency care guidelines updated on regular basis?
Additional information and evidence indicate that the effectiveness of certain interventions has changed.
A 75-year-old-male with a terminal illness has died at home. As you and your partner enter the residence, a family member becomes verbally abusive , pushes you, and states that you took too long to get there. You should:
retreat and notify law enforcement personnel.
At the scene of an automobile crash, a utility pole has been broken, and power lines are lying across the car. The patients inside the car are conscious. You should:
mark off a danger zone around the downed lines.
General adaptation syndrome is characterized by which of the following phases?
Alarm response, reaction and resistance, and recovery.
If you use a waterless handwashing substitute in the field, it is important to:
wash your hands with soap and water at the hospital.
Prescription glasses do not provide adequate eye protection because they:
offer little or no side protection.
Quid pro quo, a type of sexual harassment, occurs when the harasser:
request sexual favors in exchange for something else.
The capacity of an individual to cope with and recover from stress is called:
resilience.
Upon arriving at the scene of a motor vehicle crash, you note that two small cars collided head-on; the occupants are still in their vehicles. The fire department is in the process of stabilizing the vehicles and law enforcement personnel are directing traffic. After parking the ambulance at a safe distance, you and your partner should:
put on high-visibility safety vests.
Vector-borne transmission of an infectious organism occurs via:
animals or insects
When decontaminating the back of your ambulance after a call, you should:
allow surface to air dry unless otherwise indicated in product directions.
Which of the following statements regarding the different stages of grieving process is correct?
The stages of the grieving process might occur simultaneously.
Which type of stress reaction occurs when an EMT is exposed to many insignificant stressors over a period of several months or years?
Cumulative stress reaction
While providing care to a patient, blood got onto the ambulance stretcher. Because the stretcher was not properly cleaned afterward, a virus was transmitted to another medical emergency technician (EMT) several days later. Which route of transmission does this scenario describe?
Indirect contact
You are transporting a 40-year-old male with respiratory distress. The patient tells you that he recently had a positive tuberculosis skin test and is currently being evaluated for possible TB. You should:
apply a nonrebreathing mask on the patient and a high-effiency particulate (HEPA) respirator on yourself.
Acting in such a way as to make another person fear immediate bodily harm is called:
Assault
Maintaining the chain of evidence at the scene of a crime should include:
not cutting through holes in the clothing that were caused by weapons.
When caring for a 65-year-old male with respiratory distress, you place him in a comfortable position but do not apply oxygen. The patient's condition continues to deteriorate: He develops cardiac arrest and dies at the hospital. This scenario is an example of:
Negligence
When is forcible restraint permitted?
When the patient poses a significant threat to self or others.
Which of the following components are needed to prove negligence?
Duty to act, breach of duty, injury/damages, and causation.
Which of the following general statements regarding consent is correct?
A patient can consent to transport but can legally refuse treatment.
Which of the following statements regarding Good Samaritan laws is correct?
Such laws will not protect the EMT in case of gross negligence.
Which of the following types of consent allows treatment of a patient who is unconscious or mentally incapacitated?
Implied
Which type of consent is involved when a 39-year-old, mentally competent female with a severe headache asks you to take her to the hospital?
Expressed
You are treating a man who was assaulted and has a closed-head injury. The patient, who has slurred speech, becomes verbally abusive and tells you to leave him alone. You should:
proceed with treatment and utilize law enforcement for assistance if necessary.
You arrive at the scene of an apparent death. When evaluating the patient, which of the following is a definitive sign of death?
Dependent lividity
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.
You respond to the home of a 59-year-old man who is unconscious with slow, shallow breathing and a weak pulse. The family states that the patient has terminal brain cancer and does not wish to be resuscitated. They further state that there is a DNR order for this patient, but they are unable to locate it. You should:
Begin treatment and contact and contact medical control as needed.
A 60-year-old man complains of chest pain. He is conscious, 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?"
After delivering your patient to the hospital, you sit down to complete the handwritten PCR. When documenting the patient's last blood pressure reading, you inadvertently write 120/60 instead of 130/70. To correct this mistake, you should:
draw a single horizontal line through the error, initial it, and write the correct data next to it.
After receiving online orders from medical control to perform a patient care intervention, you should:
repeat the order to medical control word for word.
A______ receives messages and signals on one frequency and then automatically retransmits them on a second frequency.
Repeater
During your assessment of a 20-year-old-man with a severe headache and nausea, you ask him when his headache began, but he does not answer your question immediately. You should:
allow him time to think about the question and respond to it.
Ethnocentrism is defined as:
subconsciously forcing your cultural values onto a patient because you believe that your own values are more acceptable.
Immediately after being dispatched to a residence for an elderly patient with diabetic complications, you should:
confirm with dispatch that you received the call information.
Medical control gives you an order that seems inappropriate for the patient's condition. After confirming that you heard the physician correctly, you should:
advise the physician that the order is unclear and ask for clarification.
Two-way communication that requires the EMT to "push to talk" and "release to listen" describes which mode of communication?
Simplex
When obtaining patient care orders from a physician via a two-way radio, it is important to remember that:
the physician's instructions are based on the information you provide.
When relaying patient information via radio, communication should be:
brief and easily understood.
When you are communicating with an older patient, it is important to remember that:
most older people think clearly and are capable of answering questions.
Which of the following statements regarding a patient refusal is correct?
A mentally competent adult has a legal right to refuse EMS care and transport.
You are dispatched to the residence of an Asian family for a child with a high fever. When you assess the child, you note that he has numerous red marks on his back. The child's parents explain that these marks represent coining:
document this finding on your patient care report and advise the emergency department staff on what the child's parents told you.
You could be sued for _______ if your radio report to the hospital describes the patient in a manner that injures his or her reputation.
slander
A 5-year-old boy has fallen and has a severe deformity of the forearm near the wrist. He has possibly sustained a fracture of the _________ forearm.
distal
A diabetic patient has polydipsia. This means that she:
is excessively thirsty
A fracture of the humerus just above the elbow would be described as a:
distal humerus fracture
After applying a tourniquet, the injury from a patient's leg stops bleeding. This is called:
hemostasis
An intoxicated 40-year-old male is found lying face down. How would you document his body's position?
Prone
A patient has fractured both femurs. Anatomically, these injuries would be described as being:
bilateral
A patient in a semi-reclined position with the head elevated to facilitate breathing is in the ___________ position.
Fowler
A patient with a pneumothorax has unilateral chest expansion. This means that:
only one side of his chest rises when he inhales.
A pregnant patient is diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum. This means that:
she has excessive vomiting
Enlargement of the liver is called:
hepatomegaly
In relation to the chest, the back is:
posterior
In relation to the wrist, the elbow is:
proximal
Movement or motion away from the body's midline is called:
abduction
The ___________ of the heart is the inferior portion of the ventricles.
apex
The term "supraventricular tachycardia" means:
a rapid heart rate that originates from above the ventricles.
The topographic term used to describe the location of body parts that are closer toward the midline of the body is:
medial
The topographic term used to describe the parts of the body that are nearer to the feet is:
inferior
A 16-year-old female complains of vaginal bleeding and abdominal cramping that began several hours ago. During your assessment interview, you should:
inquire about the possibility of pregnancy in private, if possible.
Age-related changes in the renal system result in:
a decreased ability to clear wastes from the body and a decreased ability to conserve fluids when needed.
An infant or small child's airway can be occluded if it is overextended or overflexed because:
the occiput is proportionately large, and the trachea is flexible.
An infant's blood pressure typically increases with age because:
blood pressure directly corresponds to body weight.
Breathing is often more difficult in older adults because the:
elasticity of the lungs decreases.
In contrast to secure attachment, anxious-avoidant attachment occurs when a child:
shows little emotional response to a parent or caregiver following repeated rejection.
In preconventional reasoning, children:
act almost purely to avoid punishment and to get what they want.
The decline in cardiac function that commonly occurs in late adulthood is most often related to:
atherosclerosis.
The risk of bleeding in the skull, which increases with age, is most directly related to:
shrinkage of the brain.
When assessing an 80-year-old patient in shock, it is important to remember that:
age-related changes in the cardiovascular system might make the patient less able to compensate for decreased perfusion.
Which of the following describes the Moro reflex?
The neonate opens his or her arms wide, spreads his or her fingers, and seems to grasp at something after being startled.
Which of the following is an anatomic difference between children and adults?
An infant's tongue is proportionately larger than an adult's tongue.
Which of the following is a physical change that typically occurs in the adolescent age group?
Secondary sexual development begins.
A critical aspect of the rapid extrication technique is to:
maintain stabilization of the spine at all times.
An 81-year-old female fell and struck her head. You find the patient lying on her left side. She is conscious and complains of neck and upper back pain. As you are assessing her, you note that she has a severely kyphotic spine. What is the most appropriate method of immobilizing this patient?
Leave on her side and use blanket rolls to immobilize her to the long backboard.
As you and your partner are carrying a stable patient down a flight of stairs in a stair chair, you feel a sudden, sharp pain in your lower back. You should:
stop the move and request additional lifting assistance.
In most instances, you should move a patient on a wheeled ambulance stretcher by:
pushing the head of the stretcher while your partner guides the foot.
In which of the following situations is an emergency patient move indicated?
The EMT is unable to protect the patient from scene hazards.
It is essential that you ____________ your equipment to prevent the spread of disease.
decontaminate
The first rule of safe lifting is to:
keep your back in a straight, vertical position.
The _________ is both the mechanical weight-bearing base of the spinal column and the fused central posterior section of the pelvic girdle.
sacrum
The most serious consequence of a poorly planned or rushed patient move is:
injury to you or your patient.
The proper technique for using the power grip is to:
lift with your palms up.
To facilitate a safe and coordinated move, the team leader should:
use preparatory commands to initiate any moves.
To minimize the risk of injuring yourself when lifting or moving a patient, you should:
keep the weight as close to your body as possible.
When moving a conscious, weak patient down a flight of stairs, you should:
place the wheeled stretcher at the bottom of the stairs and carry the patient down the stairs with a stair chair.
Which of the following statements regarding an emergency patient move is correct?
An emergency move is performed before the primary assessment and treatment.
You and your partner respond to the scene of a 49-year-old male with acute abdominal pain. As you enter his residence, you find him lying on the floor in severe pain. He is conscious and alert. The patient appears to weigh in excess of 350 pounds. Your first action should be to:
request additional personnel before making any attempts to lift him.
What is the distinction between anatomy and physiology?
Anatomy is the study of body structure, and physiology is the study of body function.
With regard to medical terminology, a prefix is:
added to the beginnings of roots or words to modify or qualify their meaning.
What is the primary reason for an EMT to use specific and proper medical terminology?
Medical communication needs to be exact and consistent.
When discussing left and right in terms of anatomic locations, what do they refer to?
Left and right from the patient's perspective.
Which of the following describes the Fowler position?
Sitting upright with the legs straight
A 31-year-old female is experiencing an acute asthma attack. She is conscious and alert, but in obvious respiratory distress. After assisting her with her prescribed MDI, you should:
reassess the patient and document her response to the medication.
A drug is contraindicated for a patient when it:
May cause harm or have no positive effect
Advil, Nuprin, and Motrin are trade (brand) names for the generic medication:
ibuprofen.
After taking diphenhydramine (Benadryl) for an allergic reaction, a person begins experiencing drowsiness and a dry mouth. These findings are an example of a(n):
adverse effect.
A medication with antagonistic properties is one that:
blocks receptor sites and prevents other chemicals from attaching to them.
A mucosal atomizer device (MAD) is used to deliver certain medications via the:
intranasal route.
Aspirin is beneficial to patients suspected of having a heart attack because it:
prevents the aggregation of platelets.
EMTs respond to a known heroin abuser who is unresponsive. If they give naloxone (Narcan) to this patient, the EMTs should recall that:
naloxone administration could cause seizures in this patient.
For which of the following conditions is albuterol prescribed?
Asthma
How is nitroglycerin usually given by the EMT?
Sublingually
Nitroglycerin, when given to patients with cardiac-related chest pain:
relaxes the walls of the coronary arteries.
Subcutaneous injections deliver the medication:
between the skin and the muscle.
The medical term for a low blood glucose level is:
hypoglycemia.
To reverse the effects of a narcotic overdose you should administer:
Narcan.
Which of the following clinical signs would necessitate the administration of naloxone (Narcan) in a suspected narcotic overdose?
Slow respirations
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of epinephrine?
Decreases heart rate and blood pressure
Which of the following is the MOST rapidly acting medication administration route?
Intravenous (IV)
Which of the following medication routes delivers a drug through the skin over an extended period of time, such as a nitroglycerin or fentanyl patch?
Transcutaneous
Which of the following medication routes has the slowest rate of absorption?
Oral
Which of the following statements regarding glucose is correct?
Glucose is a simple sugar that is readily absorbed by the cells.
A 20-year-old male has a large laceration to his wrist. He is holding direct pressure with a blood-soaked towel over the wound, but it continues to bleed rapidly. You should:
apply a tourniquet proximal to the wrist.
A 25-year-old unrestrained female struck the steering wheel with her chest when her car hit a tree while traveling at a high rate of speed. She has signs and symptoms of shock, which you suspect are the result of intrathoracic bleeding. Which of the following interventions will provide this patient with the greatest chance for survival?
Rapid transport to a trauma center
A 70-year-old female was recently discharged from the hospital following a total hip replacement. Today, she presents with restlessness, tachycardia, and a blood pressure of 90/64 mm Hg. Her skin is hot and moist. You should be MOST suspicious that she is experiencing:
septic shock.
All of the following conditions should make you suspect shock, EXCEPT:
ischemic stroke.
Distributive shock occurs when:
widespread dilation of the blood vessels causes blood to pool in the vascular beds.
In infants and children, a capillary refill time that is greater than ______ second(s) is a sign of poor peripheral perfusion.
2
Neurogenic shock occurs when:
Failure of the nervous system causes wide spread vasodilation
Shock is the result of:
hypoperfusion to the cells of the body.
When assessing a patient with signs and symptoms of shock, it is important to remember that:
blood pressure may be the last measurable factor to change in shock.
Which of the following injuries would MOST likely cause obstructive shock?
Cardiac tamponade
Which of the following is the ONLY action that can prevent death from a tension pneumothorax?
Decompression of the injured side of the chest
Which of the following would MOST likely result in hemorrhagic shock?
Liver laceration
You are assessing an unresponsive patient and find that her breathing is absent. Your MOST immediate action should be to:
check her airway for obstructions.
A 60-year-old man is found to be unresponsive, pulseless, and apneic. You should:
begin CPR and call for an AED.
Abdominal thrusts in a conscious child or adult with a severe upper airway obstruction are performed:
until he or she loses consciousness.
After an advanced airway device has been inserted during two-rescuer CPR, you should:
deliver one rescue breath every 6 seconds.
After establishing that an adult patient is unresponsive, you should:
assess for breathing and a pulse.
Gastric distention will MOST likely occur:
if you ventilate a patient too quickly.
In most cases, cardiopulmonary arrest in infants and children is caused by:
respiratory arrest.
In two-rescuer adult CPR, you should deliver a compression to ventilation ratio of:
30:2.
The main benefit of using a mechanical piston device for chest compressions is:
the elimination of rescuer fatigue that results from manual compressions.
To ensure that you will deliver the appropriate number of chest compressions during one-rescuer adult CPR, you should compress the patient's chest at a rate of:
100 to 120 compressions per minute.
What is the correct ratio of compressions to ventilations when performing two-rescuer child CPR?
15:2
What is the minimum number of chest compressions that should be delivered per minute to a 4-month-old infant?
100
When ventilating an apneic adult with a bag-mask device, you should deliver each breath:
while watching for adequate chest rise.
Which of the following is considered an obvious sign of death and would not require the initiation of CPR?
Dependent blood pooling
Which of the following is NOT a BLS intervention?
Cardiac monitoring
Your partner is performing one-rescuer CPR on a middle-aged woman in cardiac arrest. When you apply the AED pads, you note that she has a medication patch over the same area where one of the AED pads will be placed. You should:
remove the medication patch, wipe away any medication residue, and apply the AED pad.
You should deliver chest compressions to an unresponsive adult patient in cardiac arrest by:
compressing the sternum between the nipples.
Which of the following is an example of a generic of a drug?
Aspirin
During a resuscitation attempt, the team leader asks the EMT to ventilate the patient at a rate of 20 breaths/min, and the EMT replies, "Actually, sir, the correct ventilation rate is 10 breaths/min." This is an example of:
constructive intervention.
EMTs arrive at the scene of an ill person. The EMR, who arrived before the EMTs, advises that the patient had a syncopal episode. The patient is conscious and alert and remains so throughout transport. When transferring patient care to the emergency department nurse, the EMT should advise the nurse that:
the patient had a reported syncopal episode
In an interdependent group, when one person fails:
everyone fails.
The concept of consistent care across the entire health care team from first patient contact to patient discharge is called:
the continuum of care.
Which of the following is an example of closed-loop communication?
The team leader assigns the EMT a task, and the EMT repeats the request back to the team leader.
While providing care to a patient, the EMT informs her partner that a shotgun is leaning against the wall in the corner of the room. In making this observation, the EMT has demonstrated:
situational awareness.
A 29-year-old male with a head injury opens his eyes when you speak to him, is confused as to the time and date, and is able to move all of his extremities on command. His Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score is:
13.
A 40-year-old male presents with pain to the right upper quadrant of his abdomen. He is conscious and alert with stable vital signs. During your assessment, you note that his skin and sclera are jaundiced. You should suspect:
liver dysfunction.
A blood pressure cuff that is too small for a patient's arm will give a:
falsely high systolic and diastolic reading.
A crackling sound produced by air bubbles under the skin is called:
subcutaneous emphysema.
A decrease in blood pressure may indicate:
loss of vascular tone.
An adult patient who is NOT experiencing difficulty breathing will:
be able to speak in complete sentences without unusual pauses.
An elderly patient has fallen and hit her head. You assess her level of consciousness as unresponsive using the AVPU scale. Your initial care should focus on:
airway, breathing, and circulation.
An injured patient is assigned a total score of 9 on the GCS. He is assigned a score of 2 for eye opening, a score of 3 for verbal response, and a score of 4 for motor response. Which of the following clinical findings is consistent with his GCS score?
Opens eyes in response to pain, uses inappropriate words, withdraws from pain
A patient in unstable condition should be reassessed at least every:
5 minutes.
A patient is sitting in a chair, leaning forward on his outstretched arms. His head and chin are thrust forward. This position indicates that he:
is experiencing difficulty breathing.
A patient's short-term memory is MOST likely intact if they correctly answer questions regarding:
day and event.
A patient who moves and cries out only when you pinch his or her trapezius muscle is said to be:
responsive to painful stimuli.
A patient with profuse sweating is referred to as being:
diaphoretic.
A properly sized blood pressure cuff should cover:
two thirds the length from the armpit to the crease at the elbow.
Capnography is used to:
determine how much carbon dioxide is being exhaled.
Cyanosis of the skin is caused by:
decreased blood oxygen.
External bleeding from an extremity can usually be controlled initially by:
applying direct pressure.
If you cannot palpate a carotid pulse in an unresponsive patient whose collapse was not witnessed, you should:
immediately begin CPR.
In patients with deeply pigmented skin, changes in color may be apparent only in certain areas, such as the:
lips or oral mucosa.
In the adult, bradycardia is defined as a pulse rate less than _______ beats/min, and tachycardia is defined as a heart rate greater than _______ beats/min.
60, 100
In which of the following situations is a pertinent negative identified?
A 59-year-old man complains of crushing chest pain but denies shortness of breath.
Normal skin color, temperature, and condition should be:
pink, warm, and dry.
Palliating factors regarding a patient's pain involve those that:
alleviate the pain.
A 19-year-old female is found unconscious by her roommate. Your primary assessment reveals that her breathing is inadequate. As you insert an oropharyngeal airway, she begins to gag violently. You should:
remove the airway and be prepared to suction her oropharynx.
A 37-year-old male has an apparent foreign body airway obstruction. He is conscious and alert and is coughing forcefully. His skin is pink, warm, and moist. The MOST appropriate treatment for this patient includes:
encouraging him to cough and transporting.
A man was found unresponsive in his bed at home. There is no evidence of injury, and the patient's medical history is not known. The patient's face is cherry red, yet the pulse oximeter reads 98%. Which of the following would MOST likely explain this?
Carbon monoxide poisoning
A ventilation/perfusion (V/Q ratio) mismatch occurs when:
a disruption in blood flow inhibits the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lungs, even though the alveoli are filled with fresh oxygen.
CPAP is indicated for patients who:
have pulmonary edema and can follow verbal commands.
During your assessment of a patient with respiratory distress, you hear wheezing when listening to breath sounds. This indicates:
a lower airway obstruction.
Each cell of the body combines nutrients and oxygen and produces energy and waste products through a process called:
metabolism.
How does CPAP improve oxygenation and ventilation in patients with certain respiratory problems?
It forces the alveoli open and increases the concentration of oxygen in the alveoli.
Hypoxia is MOST accurately defined as:
inadequate oxygen to the tissues and cells.
In contrast to inhalation, exhalation:
is a passive process caused by increased intrathoracic pressure.
Inhalation occurs when the:
diaphragm and intercostal muscles contract and cause a decrease in intrathoracic pressure.
In the presence of oxygen, the cells convert glucose into energy through a process called:
aerobic metabolism.
Irregular respirations characterized by an increasing rate and depth of breathing followed by periods of apnea are called:
Cheyne-Stokes respirations.
Proper technique for suctioning the oropharynx of an adult patient includes:
suctioning while withdrawing the catheter from the oropharynx.
The diaphragm is innervated by the _________ nerve, which allows it to contract.
phrenic
The jaw-thrust maneuver is used to open the airway of patients with suspected:
cervical spine injuries.
The MOST significant complication associated with oropharyngeal suctioning is:
hypoxia due to prolonged suction attempts.
The nasal cannula is MOST appropriately used by EMTs in the prehospital setting:
when the patient cannot tolerate a nonrebreathing mask.
The nasopharyngeal airway is MOST beneficial because it:
can maintain a patent airway in a semiconscious patient with a gag reflex.
The physical act of moving air into and out of the lungs is called:
ventilation.
The primary waste product of aerobic metabolism is:
carbon dioxide.
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