EMT: Exam 6

During the primary​ assessment, you would focus exclusively​ on:

During the primary​ assessment, you would focus exclusively​ on:

life threats.

A​ 45-year-old female is found unconscious. She is not breathing but has a pulse. You should​ next:

perform rescue breathing.

You are called to a scene of a fall and find the patient unconscious with a twisted leg. A general impression of this patient would​ be:

deciding that the​ patient's fall was severe and injured the​ patient's leg.

Which of the following statements is TRUE about the primary​ assessment?

Life-threatening conditions that are identified during the primary assessment must be treated immediately as found.

As you interview a patient with a medical​ complaint, the reason why EMS was called is often referred to as​ the:

chief complaint.

During your assessment of a patient who is suspected of having had a​ stroke, you have to pinch his nail beds for him to respond. Which of the following would best categorize this​ patient's mental​ status?

The patient responds to painful stimuli.

A​ 56-year-old male has fallen off a​ 12-foot ladder. After ensuring scene safety and completing the scene​ size-up, you should​ next:

take manual cervical spine precautions.

Which of the following would be the best method to open the airway on an unresponsive trauma​ patient?

​Jaw-thrust maneuver

A​ 13-year-old male has crashed an ATV. He was not wearing a​ helmet, and was found unconscious. His airway is patent and he is breathing​ adequately, but you hear rales in his chest and diminished lung sounds in his right chest. You assess this​ patient's priority for transport as high. What is one​ reason?

The patient is unconscious.

A​ 66-year-old female has been found apneic and pulseless. You should​ immediately:

begin chest compressions.

A​ 25-year-old male was shot in the leg. He has visibly lost a lot of​ blood, and when assessing this​ patient's circulation, you determine that this patient has​ life-threatening bleeding. You should control the bleeding​ and:

treat for shock.

Which of the following acronyms may be used in assessing the​ patient's level of​ responsiveness?

AVPU

How would you assess the mental status of an infant who appeared​ unresponsive?

Speak as a verbal stimulus and flick the feet as a painful stimulus.

During the primary​ assessment, an example of a life threat to circulation that must be managed right away would​ be:

external arterial bleeding.

During your primary​ assessment, you note blood in the​ patient's mouth and hear gurgling. You should​ next:

suction the airway and clear any secretions.

If a patient is alert and breathing adequately but exhibits cyanotic​ skin, then which intervention is most​ appropriate?

Provide oxygen based on the​ patient's need as determined by your​ examination, the​ patient's complaint and level of​ distress, and the pulse oximetry readings.

Which of the following phases of patient interaction is most likely the phase in which the EMT will discover and deal with​ life-threatening problems?

Primary assessment

The primary assessment includes steps that are taken for the purpose of discovering and dealing with any​ life-threatening problems, and it is the phase during which those problems are immediately dealt with. Although the secondary assessment may reveal life​ threats, they are much more commonly found in the primary assessment. The general impression is the first part of the primary assessment and can give the EMT clues about life​ threats, but these are typically confirmed with the later parts of a primary assessment. The patient history is typically used to confirm findings.

The primary​ assessment:

is the first step in the total assessment of a patient.

The primary assessment is the first step in the total assessment of a​ patient, but not the total assessment in its entirety. It​ doesn't necessarily follow a strict airway–breathing–circulation sequence, and it​ doesn't end with assessment of mental status.

An​ EMT's concern during primary assessment​ is:

discovering and treating​ life-threatening problems.

An​ EMT's concern during primary assessment is discovering and treating​ life-threatening problems, not gathering detailed patient​ histories, preparing notes for the secondary​ assessment, or ensuring scene​ safety, the last of which would be done during the initial scene​ size-up.

A sign of lifelessness that would indicate going directly to a pulse check and the​ C-A-B approach​ is:

agonal breathing.

Agonal breathing is an indication of lifelessness that would require going directly to a pulse check and then taking the​ C-A-B approach: circulation–airway–breathing. The first steps in this case would not be to open or protect the airway or address breathing difficulty.

A patient has a pulse but is​ unconscious, and you suspect trauma from a fall. After developing a general impression of the​ patient, you​ would:

take spinal precautions.

You arrive on the scene of a traffic accident and find a bleeding patient wandering by the roadside who appears to be coughing. Your general impression of this patient may​ include:

an immediate impression of the​ patient's appearance.

Your general impression of the patient includes the observation that the​ patient, a small​ child, is crying loudly. This tells you immediately​ that:

the​ patient's airway is open.

A​ 41-year-old male has sustained a large laceration to his leg after falling from a tree he was trimming. You identify the massive hemorrhage and apply a tourniquet. After bleeding has been​ controlled, you should​ next:

assess the​ patient's airway.

The​ patient's most immediate life threat is bleeding. If even one large vessel or several smaller ones are​ bleeding, a patient can lose enough blood in just a minute or two to die. In your primary​ assessment, you identified and successfully treated this problem.​ Afterwards, you should complete the primary assessment. The next step would therefore be to assess the​ patient's airway. You would not determine transport priority​ yet, and you would already have developed a general impression by this point.

A​ 40-year-old male has crashed his motorcycle. Your general impression identifies that he is unconscious and that he has blood spurting out of the junction of his leg and his groin. You also hear gurgling respirations. You should​ first:

apply direct pressure to the bleeding wound.

A​ 90-year-old female is experiencing severe respiratory distress secondary to exacerbated COPD. After several minutes of treating this​ patient, you witness her stop breathing. She continues to have a pulse. You should​ next:

take measures to open the airway.

The decision regarding the need for immediate transport of the patient versus further assessment and care at the scene is referred to​ as:

priority.

A​ 33-year-old male has been thrown from a vehicle in a​ high-speed crash. Your assessment reveals that he will respond only to painful stimuli with decorticate posturing. He has blood in the​ hypopharynx, unequal chest wall​ motion, and a penetrating injury to the leg with moderate bleeding. Based on these​ findings, you would likely classify this patient​ as:

unstable.

An​ 81-year-old diabetic female has been found unconscious. You find that your patient does not respond to a sternal rub or pinching the web between the thumb and index finger. You determine that her mental status​ is:

​"U" for unresponsive.

To be​ "A" for​ alert, the patient would need to know her​ name, where she​ is, and the day of the week​ (oriented to​ person, place, and​ day). This patient gets a​ "U" for not responding to your painful stimuli.

A​ patient's heart rate and respiratory rate are slightly below normal. This patient appears to have a patent​ airway, and you have stopped the bleeding from a small laceration on the​ patient's forehead.​ However, the​ patient's mental status seems slightly​ confused, with the patient only intermittently alert and responsive to verbal​ commands, and you are concerned that the​ patient's condition will worsen. What aspect of this​ patient's condition most points to it being potentially​ unstable?

Your suspicion that it will worsen

A​ 58-year-old male crashed his vehicle at high speed. He was not wearing his seat​ belt, and has a deep laceration on his forehead and neck pain. It is not clear whether there was a period of unconsciousness before your arrival on the scene. You decide that because of the potential for loss of consciousness from a head injury and the significant​ MOI, this patient is a high priority and should go to the trauma center. This decision reflects your clinical​ judgment, which is based​ on:

your experience in observing and treating patients.

You are responding to a call for a​ 17-year-old asthma patient who has been having an attack for two hours. Her mother called EMS because the patient seemed to be deteriorating. You note that the patient is​ lethargic, confused,​ pale, and diaphoretic. Her airway is​ open, and she is breathing slowly at 6 breaths per minute. Which of these findings would be signs of shock in a look​ test?

Pale and sweating

You have assessed a​ patient's mental status as not alert​, and the​ patient's breathing has insufficient minute volume. Based on these​ findings, you assess this​ patient's breathing as requiring assistance. Of the four general situations requiring breathing​ assistance, if numbered 1 through 4 with 1 being most severe and 4 being​ least, this situation would rate​ a: