Red Cross Lifeguard Test Study Guide (Latest 2025 / 2026 Update)

CPR Should be performed on a victim who is...

In Cardiac Arrest or unconscious with an obstructed airway.

After an AED says "No Shock Advised," it is best to...

Perform CPR for about 2 minutes.

When giving chest compressions to an adult, how do you position your hands?

Heel of one hand on the center of the chest with the other hand on top.

Once you have turned on the AED, you should...

Apply the pads and allow the AED to analyze the heart rhythm.

When providing care to a conscious infant who is choking, it is most appropriate to...

Position the infant so the head is lower than the chest.

The cycle of chest compressions and ventilations in two-rescuer CPR for an infant is...

15 chest compressions and 2 ventilations.

The purpose of a secondary assessment is to...

Identify and care for conditions that are not life threatening.

When giving a primary ventilation to an adult who is unconscious and not breathing, you notice the chest is not rising. What should you do next?

Re-tilt the head and attempt another ventilation.

After summoning EMS for a victim who is conscious and bleeding severely, and after obtaining consent and putting on gloves, what should you do next?

Press firmly against the wound with a sterile dressing and apply bandaging.

The bleachers at a swim meet suddenly collapse. Out of all the symptoms in the crowd, you should first care for...

An unconscious victim.

A victim has slurred speech, cannot lift their right arm level with the left, is unable to smile and half her face is drooping. What would you assume has happened?

A stroke.

As the only lifeguard performing CPR on an 7-year old, you would perform cycles of...

30 chest compressions and 2 ventilations.

You notice a child is choking on food at the concession stand. After activating your EAP and getting consent from the parents, what should you do next?

Stand or kneel behind the victim and give 5 back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts.

If there is a risk of the AED pads touching each other on a small child or infant, you should...

Place one pad in the middle of the chest and the other on the back.

Where should you place your hands when giving CPR to an infant?

One hand on the forehead and two or three fingers on the center of the chest.

How deep should you compress the chest when giving CPR to an adult?

At least 2 inches. (2 inches or more)

To ensure effective chest compressions during CPR, what should be noted?

The chest is able to fully recoil between compressions.

If you have a victim that is an adult and is unconscious with a pulse but is not breathing, what rate should you perform rescue breathing at?

1 ventilation every 5 seconds.

You are giving ventilations through a resuscitation mask, and the victim vomits. What should you do?

Turn the victim as a unit onto his or her side (similar to HAINES recovery position).

When applying the AED, you notice the victim has several body piercings on their chest. How should you place the pads accordingly?

Place the pads on their chest, being sure to avoid the jewelry.

During a primary assessment, what should you check first (after ensuring the scene is safe)?

Check the victim for responsiveness.

An infant is crying uncontrollably. You could safely assume that their airway is...

Open.

When caring for musculoskeletal injuries, what does RICE stand for?

Rest, Immobilize, Cold, Elevate

A victim is having a seizure in the water. What should you do?

Support the victim with his or her head above water until the seizure ends.

How can you protect yourself from possible bloodborne pathogens when treating a victim?

Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as disposable gloves and a breathing barrier.

Sudden illness can be identified by many things, including...

Loss of vision or blurred vision, changes in skin condition, or nausea/vomiting.

What is the universal sign that a person is choking?

Clutching the throat.

You are performing CPR when a second lifeguard arrives. What is most appropriate for the second lifeguard to do first?

Check to see whether EMS personell have been called.

What is the first step in the Cardiac Chain of Survival?

Early recognition and access to emergency medical services (EMS) system.

You must keep checking a victim's LOC in a secondary assessment. What does the "C" in LOC stand for?

Consciousness.

When providing care to a conscious infant who is choking, what part of the hand would you use to give chest thrusts?

Two or Three fingers.

When immobilizing an injured patron's arm...

Leave the arm in the position you find it or in the position the patron is holding it.

You are performing CPR on a victim when you notice the chest begins to rise and fall. What do you do first?

Stop CPR and reassess the victim's breathing and pulse. If the breathing is not regular, continue CPR as though no breathing were present.

What is the first step you should take in treating a victim with burns?

Remove the victim from the source of the burn.

A boy clutches at his chest and has problems breathing. After obtaining consent for care, his mom informs you that he has asthma, but he does not have his inhaler nearby. What care should you provide?

Call EMS and place the victim in a position that helps breathing.

A patron cuts her leg on the bleachers and is bleeding severely. You can tell she may be in shock because she may...

Becomes restless and irritable

What should you do when first approaching the scene of an emergency?

Size up the scene, make sure it is safe for you to interact.

You and another lifeguard are preparing for CPR on an adult. You find no pulse and no breathing and state "Victim has no pulse. Begin CPR." What should the second lifeguard do next?

Begin chest compressions.

When using a resuscitation mask, what should you do?

Place (and seal) the mask with the broad end between the chin and the lower lip.

When giving abdominal thrusts, where should you position your fist?

In the middle of the abdomen, just above the navel.

What is most true about bag-valve-mask resuscitators (BVMs)?

Two rescuers need to operate the BVM.

During a second assessment, the SAMPLE acronym is used to collect important information. What does the "A" in SAMPLE stand for?

Allergies.

You pull an adult *from the water*. After a primary assessment, you conclude the victim has a pulse but is breathing irregularly. You should...

Give 2 initial ventilations. *THIS IS TO CLEAR THE AIRWAY OF ANY WATER THAT MAY BE PRESENT, SINCE YOU PULLED THIS VICTIM FROM THE WATER.*

The AED advises a shock should be given. What should you do next?

Tell everyone to stand clear of the victim.

You are using a resuscitation mask to give ventilations to a child. After *positioning* the mask, what should you do?

Seal the mask.

When compressing a child's chest for CPR, how many should compressions should you give per minute?

100 BPM (This is roughly the tempo of the song "Staying Alive" by the BeeGees. Ironically, it is also the tempo of "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen. You can choose how optimistic you feel).

You are providing care for a victim having a heart attack. What should you do first?

Summon EMS Personell.

Upon approaching a scene where someone appears to be hurt, you would commence a primary assessment. In this period, you would NOT check something like...

Swelling, or anything that is non-life-threatening.

While preparing to use an AED on a victim, you notice a medication patch on the chest, where the AED pads need to go. What should you do with this patch?

Remove the patch using a gloved hand.

You are coming up to a scene where a patron appears to be injured. While making sure the scene is safe, what should you NOT do?

Begin the primary assessment of the victim.

A patron appears to be having a diabetic emergency. What should you do?

Give them something to drink, such as a non-diet soda, a fruit juice, or, if these are not available, a glass of water with table sugar dissolved in it.

A man is unexpectedly pushed from behind and falls from the deck and into the water and is in distress. After you activate your EAP what are included in your next steps?

Extend the rescue tube to him while remaining on the deck then provide additional care

Which of the following is a primary responsibility of a lifeguard (2/3)

enforcing facility rules and regulations and educating patrons about them

For a head, neck, or spinal injury in deep water, what do you do?

Minimize movement of the victims head and neck by using the head-splint technique

While scanning your zone you notice a person motionless in the water the steps you follow in a water emergency are performed in the following order....

Activate your EAP, enter the water, perform and appropriate rescue, move the victim to a safe exit point, remove the victim from the water and provide appropriate care

while scanning the pool you witness a patron struggling while swimming then go under the water. which of the following applies

You have a duty to act and perform the appropriate rescue

A lifeguard can no longer see some of the patrons at one side of the swimming area from his station because of a glare from the afternoon sun, to maintain effective patron surveillance what do you do

adjust your position slightly to remove the glare from the spot of his surveillance area

a patron starts running on the deck, you blow your whistle to get her attention, next you...

telling her she could slip or fall and she must walk on the deck

when caring for a suspected head, neck or spinal injury in the water proper manual inline stabilization is...

provided using the head-splint technique

working with other lifeguards, facility staff, and supervisors as a team is... (3/3)

one of the primary responsibilities of a lifeguard

you are a lifeguard on surveillance duty during a busy family swim session. it is important to...

scan all areas of your assigned zone of coverage and carry your rescue tube with you at all times

a head, neck, or spinal injury rarely happens...

in deep water a supervised facility

which of the following is true about accidental fecal releases

require water treatment, temporary pool closure, and immediate lifeguard attention

you are lifeguarding during a family swim session when you notice a swimmer swimming full lengths of the pool underwater, what do you do?

immediately stop them from continuing the activity and explain the dangers of the activity

after removing a conscious victim you suspect has a spinal injury from the water you should do all of the following except...

dry the victim off and provide the pads of an AED

2 lifeguards are on surveillance duty during a public swim, you are on a break. one lifeguard activates the facilities AED for a submerged passive victim and enters the water. which steps should you take next to assist the rescuer

bring the backboard to the lifeguard and assist them in removing the victim from the water while the other lifeguard clears the pool

a lifeguard keeps an eye on the patrons of the pool checking the bottom, middle, and surface of the water. he is demonstrating...

effective scanning

a mother and her son walk over to you. she states that he fell on the pool deck and hit his head. you notice that he has blood and fluid running from his ear and he is feeling dizzy. what steps do you take next

tell him not to nod or shake his head, provide manual stabilization while the other lifeguards prepare to backboard him

the lifeguard supervisor expects the pool to be very busy in the afternoon. for effective patron surveillance she sets up multiple lifeguard stations to reduce the number of patrons watched by each lifeguard. this coverage is called...

zone coverage

to effectively scan you MUST...

move your head and eyes as you scan to look directly at each area rather in one directionv

when providing care to a conscious person you suspect of having a head, neck or spinal injury and was injured from a fall of the pool deck...

you do not move the victim unless the scene becomes unsafe

a woman collides with another swimmer while diving into the pool and asks the lifeguard for help. without doing an assessment the lifeguard tells the woman she can continue to swim. the woman leaves the facility and seeks medical attention from a hospital after she begins to feel tingling sensations in her arms and legs. the lifeguard may be...

negligent

during a weather related power failure at a facility you should..

clear the pool

during in service training the lifeguards practice the steps of recognizing a distressed swimmer, rescuing an active victim, informing management, and speaking with witnesses. the lifeguards are practicing a part of what kind of plan

emergency action plan

you enter the mechanical room and find the maintenance worker lying on his back, on the floor, next to a ladder. you check the scene and determine that it is safe to enter. during your primary assessment you find the victim is unconscious but breathing. you must leave to get help. what do you do

move him into the haines position

which of the following is true if the manager of the facility has assigned you as the only lifeguard conducting patron surveillance

you have TOTAL coverage

which of the following pieces of equipment need to be easily accessible for emergency use

backboard and an AED

a technique to minimize movement of a victim with a suspected head, neck, or spinal injury who is facedown at the surface in water less than 3 ft deep is called

head splint

if 3 lifeguards are on duty, emergency backup coverage takes place...

when the lifeguard enters the water for a rescue

which of the following is the least important for a safe group visit to the pool

ensuring that their are multiple activities planned for the group

while caring for someone with a suspected spinal injury you secure the straps on the backboard...

upper chest, hips, thighs

it is the primary responsibility of the facility management to provide all but which of the following

educating patrons on pool rules

a patrons dives into the shallow end of the pool. you suspect she has a head neck or spinal injury because she has..

blood in her ears and nose

a patron starts running on the deck, you blow your whistle to get her attention, next you...

the hazardous communication standard includes having an MSDS information available. what is included in this information

it contains information about chemicals in the facility