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Prehospital Emergency Care Practice Test: Basics of Patient Assessment
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Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) assess patients to determine if they are sick and if there are any life threats. The assessment is broken down into five blocks: Scene safety: This block includes: BSI, Standard precautions, Environment, No hazards noted - Primary survey: This is the first part of the assessment and should be completed in 10–15 minutes. It includes: Scene size up, Personal protective equipment (PPE) for body substance isolation (BSI), General impression of the patient, Determine level of consciousness (LOC), Determine chief complaint (CC) and any life threats - History... Show more
Prehospital Emergency Care Practice Test: Basics of Patient Assessment
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25 Questions

1. A conscious and alert 64-year-old female patient complains of chest pain and mild shortness of breath. She appears to have no difficulty speaking and states that the pain suddenly started about 2 hours ago. Her daughter on scene advises you there is a history of blood clots in the lungs of her family, and she is scared and would like her mother to be evaluated. Which of these steps should you take first?
2. You are by the side of a patient who complains of shortness of breath and has a history of heart problems, including congestive heart failure (CHF). When assessing the airway, which of these observations best indicates that it is still patent?
3. You have been called to the side of a 37-year-old female patient whose chief complaint is confusion, anxiety, and chest tightness. Assessment shows her airway to be patent, respirations are 46 breaths/min, heart rate is 134 beat/min, blood pressure is 128/54 mmHg, and SpO2 is 93%. In regard to the respiratory rate, you would recognize:
4. When assessing a stable patient with a medical complaint, which piece of information will typically be obtained first?
5. Which characteristic regarding breathing rates must the EMT remember when assessing the respirations of a pediatric patient?
6. En route to the hospital, you start the reassessment of a 22-year-old trauma patient. You should begin this assessment by:
7. You have been dispatched to an apartment for an elderly male complaining of shortness of breath. When do you start the process of forming a general impression about this patient?
8. Forming a general impression is essential in the assessment of any patient because it:
9. What is the purpose of assessing the pulse on an unresponsive patient during the primary assessment?
10. You cannot locate a radial pulse on a 54-year-old male patient who is alert, confused, and breathing adequately. What should you do immediately?
11. A 20-year-old female patient is found unresponsive. The first step of the secondary assessment for this patient is to:
12. You must check the circulation of an 8-year-old child with a high fever who has been vomiting for the past 2 hours. The child is very frightened and crying. Given the situation, you should:
13. When performing a secondary assessment on an alert and oriented female patient with a deformed left leg, the EMT should:
14. When you are caring for a patient with either a medical complaint or a traumatic injury, you should typically perform the reassessment:
15. When performing the secondary assessment, the EMT would likely find which of these injuries first?
16. A 43-year-old male patient has called 911 with the complaint of difficulty breathing. Once on scene, you note he is breathing at a rate of 18 breaths/min. He also exhibits intercostal retractions and nasal flaring. The pulse oximeter reads 93% on room air. The EMT should document this patient's breathing as:
17. You have been called for an adult patient who suffered a seizure. He is sitting on the floor, and looks at you as you enter the room. When questioned, he knows his name but cannot remember the date, what happened, or where he is. This patient's mental status can best be described as:
18. Which of these patients should receive oxygen via an oxygenation adjunct such as an NRB or nasal cannula?
19. Near the end of a workday, a construction worker fell 10 feet from scaffolding, landing on his head and left shoulder. He is found to be spontaneously alert, but confused. His airway is open and his breathing is adequate. Coworkers state that he was unresponsive for a period of 2 minutes following the fall and is on medications for depression and heart problems. Based on this information, the EMT should initially classify him as which kind of patient?
20. While treating a patient who was assaulted by a mob of angry people in a bar, the EMT finds the patient to be confused, tachycardic, with cool skin and a poor capillary refill. Based on this information, how would you categorize this patient?
21. You arrive on the scene of a motor vehicle collision and are presented with a patient who complains of chest pain after striking his chest on the steering wheel. On-scene Emergency Medical Responders are maintaining cervical spine motion restriction manually. The patient is alert and oriented and has a patent airway. His respirations are 24 breaths/min with good chest rise and fall, and his skin is warm and dry. He describes some shortness of breath, his heart rate is 96 beats/min, and his SpO2 is 92% on room air. At this time you should:
22. You are interviewing a prospective candidate for an EMT position with your service. During the interview, you ask the applicant to describe the purpose of the primary assessment. Which of these statements best describes that purpose?
23. As you perform the primary assessment on an unresponsive patient, you discover vomitus in her airway. What should you do next?
24. When you assess the lower back of an elderly patient who fell, he grimaces and tells you that it hurts when you palpate the injury site. The perception by the patient of increased pain upon palpation of an injured site is known as:
25. The EMT is using the OPQRST mnemonic to gather information from a patient with abdominal pain. Which of these patient statements is a response to the 'P' component of this memory aid?