EMT Mod 1 Exam Terms

Emergency Medical Responder

basic, initiate care and assist EMTs; police and firefighters

Emergency Medical Technician

basic life support, AED, airway, responsibility for assessment, care and transport

AEMT

ALS, IVs, meds, supergalotis airways

Paramedic

Intubation, pharmacology, cardiac monitoring; most advanced

Established EMS in 1966

Accidental Death & Disability: The Neglected Disease of Modern Society”

DOT

1970s published the first EMT training curriculum; also regulates ambulances

Federal Training

national scope of practice, provides guideelines

State Training

laws regulates EMS operation

Local

medical director provides oversight and support (more day to day)

Physician medical director

authorizes EMTs to provide medical care in field

Medical command

Drs in the hospital, the people we call when with patients on scene

Offline contact

standing orders and protocols; what you can do without a physicians approval

Online contact

physicians directions given over phone or radio

Mobile Integrated Healthcare

A healthcare approach that brings medical services directly to patients' homes, focusing on proactive and preventive care; It aims to improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs

CQI

continuous quality improvement; reviews and performs audits of the EMS system to improve and enhance its functions

HIPAA

health insurance portability and accountability act

Group

your truck (you and your partner)

Team

everyone on the shift; healthcare providers assigned to specific roles and working in coordinated manner

The 3 Ts

Triage, Treatment, Transport

5 elements of a group

Common goal, image of themseelves as group/fam; sense of continuity; shared set of values; different roles within group

PACE

Probe, Alert, Challenge, Emergency

Stages of Decision Making

Prearrival; arrival; during call; after call

Prearrival

already thinking about whats going on before arrival

arrival

still thinking (how to get them out)

during the call

anything immediate, prioritizing what needs to happen

after the call

what ifs, learning from cases, following up with weird cases

Decision Traps

Bias, anchoring, overconfidence

Anchoring

the first piece of information we receive influences our decision-making process, even if it's irrelevant or inaccurate

Infectious

caused by organisms within the body

communicable

spreads from person to person one species to another

direct transmission

bloodborne, pathogens

indirect contact

needle stick (poke yourself)

Airborne transmission

sneezing, coughing

Scene Safety

begin protecting yourself as soon as dispatched, protect self

Stages of grieving

Denial, Anger/hostility, bargaining, depression, acceptance

General adaptation syndrome

alarm response to stress, reaction and resistance, recovery

Acute Stress Reaction

immediate, sudden onset, during stressful situation

Delayed Stress

manifest after stressful events

Cumulative stress

prolonged/excessive stress

Expressed consent

patient acknowledges he/she want to provide care

Informed Consent

permission for treatment given by competent patient after the potential risks, benefits and alternatives to treatment have been explained

Involuntary Consent

forced to go; mentally incapacitated

Implied consent

patient who cannot make decision for themselves (alc included); legal assumption they would want treatment

Putrefaction

decomposition of body and cells

Lividity

blood settling, come to rest where the body is laying

Scope of practice

outlines the care you can provide, defined by the state

Standard of care

type of care expected, manner in which you must act

Duty to act

individual responsibility to provide patient care

negligence

failure to provide same care that someone with similar training would provide

Res ipsa loquitur

cause of injury is by EMT

Negligence per se

conduct of person being sued is alleged

abandonment

unilateral termination of care by EMT without patients consent; making provisions for continuing care

assault

unlawfully placing person in fear of immediate bodily harm (restraints)

battery

unlawful touching a person (care without consent)

false imprisonment

unlawful confinement of a person

defamation

communication of false info that damages reputation of a person

gross negligence

conduct that cause willful or reckless disregard for a duty or standard of care

Base station

transmitter and receiver in a fixed place

mobile radio

installed in vehicle; used for talking to dispatch/medical command

portable radios

on your person, handheld devices

repeated-based system

strengthens signal, sends and receive messages and retransmits to strength signal

simplex radio

push to talk, release to listen

duplex

simultaneous talk-listen

multiplex

utilizes two or more frequencies

FCC

Federal Communication Commission, regulates all radio operatiion in US

standing orders

written documents that have been signed by EMS system’s medical director (outlines specific permissions, directions about patient care)

Power grip

palms up underneath; hands 10 inches apart

wheeled ambulance stretcher

most commonly used device to transport patients

backboard

long, flat board made of rigid rectangular material

basket stretcher

rigid stretcher commonly used in technical and water rescues

diamond carry

carrying technique where one provider is located at head, one at food and two on the sides to support stretcher

direct ground lift

lifting technique used for patients found lying supine with no suspected spine injury

emergency move

the patient is dragged or pulled from a dangerous scene before assessment and care are provided; cannot properly assess patient where you are

extremity lift

used for patient who are supine/sitting with no suspected extremity or spinal injuries f

power lift

lifting technique where EMTs back is held upright with legs bent and patient is lifted when EMT straightens legs to raise upper body and arms

rapid extrication technique

used to move a patient from sitting position in vehicle to backboard in less than 1 min if conditions dont allow for immobilizations

scoop stretcher

designed to be split into two or four sections that can be fitted around a patient who is lying on the ground or relatively flat surface

stair chair

lightweight folding device used to carry a conscious person up and down stairs

nonurgent moves

used when both scene is safe and patient is table; plan the move