EMT Module 1 exam

Advanced emergency medical technician (AEMT)

Individual that has training in specific aspects of advanced life support

• intravenous therapy

• administration of certain emergency medications

Advanced Life Support (ALS)

Advanced airway management, intravenous access, and medication administration

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

Legislation that is designed to protect people with disabilities against discrimination

automated external defibrillators (AEDs)

device that detects treatable life-threatening cardiac dysrhythmias and deliver the appropriate electrical shock to the patient

Life threatening cardiac dysrhytmias

ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia

Basic Life Support (BLS)

noninvasive emergency lifesaving care that is used to treat medica condtions, including airway obstruction, respiratory arrest, and cardiac arrest

Emergency medical Responder (EMR)

a professional (police officer, firefighter, lifegaurd) who may arrive first at the scene of an emergency to provide initial medical assistance and ensure access to EMS

Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

a multidisciplinary system to provide out-of-hospita care to the sick and injured within communities

emergency medical technician

an individual who has traning in basic life support, including AEDs , definitive airway adjunct, and assisting patients with certain medications

evidence-based medicine

approach to medicine where decision are based on well-conducted research that is integrated with the expertise of the EMS clinician and the patient’s wishes and needs

health equity

WHO Defined as:

the absence of unfair and avoidable or remediable differences in health among population groups defined socially, economically, demographically, or geographicallyJust

Just Culture

an approach to quality management that strives to balance accountability and justice in a system that believes in learning from errors

ensures that all members of an EMS agency, not just the members of a quality department are responsible for quality

licesure

process whereby a competent authority, usually the state, allows people to perform a regulated act

medical director

physician who authorizes or delegates to the EMT the authority to provide medical care in the field

medical oversight

Supervision of an EMS system or education program that incudes instructions given directly by radio or cell phone (online/direct) to those on scene or indirectly by protocol/guidelines (off-line/indirect); also includes credentialing EMS clinicians and overseeing quality improvement activities as authorized by the medical director of the service or program

Mobile integrated health care (MIH)

Method of delivering health care that involves providing health care within the community rather than at a physicians office or hospital

‘community paramedicine’

health evaluations, home safety assessments, monitering chronic illnesses/conditions, obtaining laboratory samples, administering immunizations, patient advocate

national EMS education standards

standards published by the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) that defines the knowledge and competencies that students should acquire to perform at entry level as an EMS

The 4 levels that are defined by the NHTSA as national MES eductaion standards

EMR

EMT

AEMT

Paramedic

National EMS information system (NEMSIS)

System funded by NHTSA that is responsible for developing and maintaining the national EMS data standard

National MES Scope of practice model

a document created by NHTSA that outlines the minimum entry-level skills performed by EMS clinicians at each nationally recognized level

paramedic

individual with extensive training in ALS

• endotracheal intubation, emergency pharmacology, cardiac monitering

primary prevention

efforts to prevent an injury or illness from ever occuring

public health

branch of medicine that is focused on examining the health needs of entire populations with the goal of preventing health problems

public safety access point (PSAP)

Call center /911, staffed by tranied personne who are responsible for managing requests for police, fire, and ambulance services

quality assurance (QA)

A reactive process that involves monitering compliance against a standard to identify problems that have already occurred

quality improvement

a proactive process that involves making changes to a system to improve performance

secondary prevention

efforts to limit the effects of an injury or illness that has already occurred

social drivers of health

the condition in which people live, including the forces and systems shaping their daily lives

the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life

“non-healthcare factors”

goal for Federal Interagency Committee on Emergency Medical Services (FICEMS)

promotes coordination between different government organization

what was first to establish the first paramedic program in the U.S

freedom house ambulance service

star of life

symbol that represents EMS as a critical public service

1. early detection

2. early reporting

3. early response

4. on scene care

5. care in transit

6. transfer to definitive care

serpent and staff (god of medicine)

EMS courses are competancy based, meaning they are designed to help students reach a level where they can apply their:

knowledge, skills, abilities (KSA)

To serve as an EMT, you must successfully complete

certification, licensure and credentialing

licensure is before or after the certification process

after

process of becoming certified

certification → licesure → credentialing

care in a people-centered system focuses not only on lifesaving interventions, but also on _____

reducing physical, emotional, and physchological suffering

essential components of EMS systems

• legislation and regulation

• public access, public BLS and immediate aid

• agencies and workforce, medical oversight

• information systems and data

• quality management

• research

App that gives location on nearest AED

PulsePoint AED

clinicians are not required to consult medical direction before implementing _____

standing orders

• Off-line medical oversight

quality management encompasses:

quality assurance & quality improvement

purpose of quality assurance

monitor compliance against a standard

identifies problems after they have already occured

Goal of quality improvement

to make meaningful improvements in desired outcomes

proactive approach that involves making changes to a system to improve performance

involved observations and experiences from clinicians

Health is an interaction among

physical, mental, or emotional conditions

wellness is the

active pursuit of a state of good health

aerosol-generating procedure (AGP)

Treatments that increase the risk for transmission of infections that are spread through the air or by droplets

example = CPR

airborne transmission

the spread of an organism via droplets or dust

bloodborne pathogens

pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans

ex = Hep B, and HIV

burnout

exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced performance resulting from long-term job stresses in health care and other high-stress professions

Center for disease control and prevention (CDC)

Primary federal agency that conducts and supports public health activities in the united states.

part of US department of health and human services

communicable diseases

disease that can be spread from one person or species to another

compassion fatigue

stress disorder charcterized by gradual lessening of compassion over time

contamination

presence of infectious organism on or in objects

critical incident stress management (CISM)

Process that confronts the responses to critical incidents and defuses them, directing the emergency services personnel toward physical and emotional equilibrium

cultural competance

ability to deliver care in a way that meets social, cultural, and linguistic needs of patients

cultural humility

ongoing process in which a person seeks to learn more about others and continously reflects on their own viewpoints

designated officer

individual in the department who is charged with the responsibility of managing exposures and infection control issues

direct contact

exposure / transmission of a communicable disease from one person to another by physical contact

distress

a negative response to a stressor

exposure

a situation in which a person has had contact with blood, body fluids, tissues, or air borne particles in a manner that suggests disease transmission may occur

foodborne transmission:

contamination of food or water

hepatitis

inflammation of liver, usually caused by a viral infection, that causes:

• fever, loss of appetite, jaundice, fatigue, and altered liver functions

host

organism or individual that is attacked by infectious agent

human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). which damages the cells in the bodys immune system so that the body is unable to fight infections or certain cancers

immune

state of being able to resist adverse effects of an infectious exposure

indirect contact

exposure / transmission of disease by contact with a contaminated object

infection

abnormal invasion of a host / host tissues by organisms such as bacteria, viruses or parasites, with or without signs or symptoms of disease

infection control

procedures to reduce a transmission of infection among patients and health care personnel

infectious disease

medical condition caused by growth and spread of small, harmful organisms within the body

occupational safety and health administration (OSHA)

Federal regulatory compliance agency that develops, publishes, and enforces guidleines concerning safety in the workplace

pathogen

microorganism capable of causing disease in susceptible host

personal protective equipment PPE

equipment that block exposure to a pathogn or hazardous material

PTSD

delayed stress reaction to a prior incident. often a result of one or more unresolved issues concerning the incident, and may relate to an incident that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm

potentially psychologically traumatizing event

any incident that deeply affects the mental and emotional well-being of an EMS clinician. these events have the potential to cause PTSD and other conditions

resilience

capacity to cope with and recover from distress

standard precautions

protective measures that have traditionally been developed by the CDC for use in dealing with objects , blood, body fluids, and other potential exposure risks of communicable diseases

transmission

way in which an infectious disease in spread:

• contact

• airborne

• vehicles

• vectors

vector -borne transmission

use of an animal to spread an organism from one person or place to another

wellness

active pursuit of a state of good health