Emergency Medical Technician Practice Exam Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering legal issues, communication, respiratory emergencies, cardiology, endocrine disorders, toxicology, and trauma based on EMT lecture notes.

Expressed consent

A type of consent demonstrated when a patient, such as an older woman complaining of chest pain, holds her arm out for an EMT to take her blood pressure.

Abandonment

An instance where an AEMT transfers care of a patient to a clinician with a lower level of training, such as an EMR.

False imprisonment

The unauthorized confinement of a person.

Negligence

The failure of an EMT to provide the same care as another EMT with the same level of training.

Advance directive

A written document that specifies the medical care you should provide if the patient becomes unable to make their own decisions.

Assault

An action such as threatening to restrain a patient if they do not provide consent for treatment.

Duty to act

A legal obligation to provide care that applies to a volunteer who is on duty and has been dispatched on a call.

Cultural imposition

When health care clinicians force their cultural values onto patients because they believe their values are superior.

Repeater

A communication device that receives a low-frequency signal and then transmits it at a relatively higher frequency.

Respiration

The process in which oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged within the lungs.

Asthma

A respiratory disease that causes obstruction of the lower airway and is most often associated with bronchospasm.

Tuberculosis

A potentially drug-resistant disease thought to be transmitted by coughing.

Pulmonary embolism

A condition characterized by a sudden onset of difficulty breathing, sharp chest pain, and cyanosis that persists despite supplemental oxygen.

Epiglottitis

An acute bacterial infection resulting in the swelling of the flap that covers the larynx during swallowing.

Dysrhythmia

An irregular heart rhythm, which may be noted while palpating a patient's pulse.

Coronary arteries

The specific blood vessels that, when blocked, lead to an acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Nitroglycerin Contraindication

Conditions under which nitroglycerin should not be administered, such as a systolic blood pressure less than $100\,\text{mm Hg}$.

Type 1 diabetes

A medical condition in which the body's ability to utilize glucose is impaired.

Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) Breathing

A breathing pattern typically encountered in DKA patients that is characterized as rapid and deep.

Polydipsia

Excessive thirst, often experienced by patients with diabetic ketoacidosis because they are dehydrated due to excessive urination.

Anaphylactic reaction

A severe allergic reaction characterized by widespread urticaria, tachycardia, wheezing, and a low blood pressure such as $90/60\,\text{mm Hg}$.

Stridor

A high-pitched sound that serves as the most reliable indicator of upper airway swelling during a severe allergic reaction.

Adult EpiPen dosage

A system that delivers a dose of $0.3\,\text{mg}$ of epinephrine.

Infant–child EpiPen dosage

A system that delivers a dose of $0.15\,\text{mg}$ of epinephrine.

Central Nervous System (CNS) Brain Divisions

The brain is divided into the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem.

Epidural hematoma

An injury where a patient experiences an immediate loss of consciousness followed by a lucid interval.

Retrograde amnesia

A term used to document memory loss regarding events that occurred leading up to an accident.

Aortic shearing

The chest injury resulting from rapid deceleration in a motor vehicle crash that kills almost one-third of patients within seconds.

Commotio cordis

A condition causing cardiac arrest when a patient, such as a baseball player, is hit in the chest by a fast-moving object.

Flail chest

An injury characterized by paradoxical chest movement.

Striated muscle

Another term used to refer to skeletal muscle.

Sprain

An injury involving the stretching or tearing of ligaments with partial or temporary dislocation of bone ends.

Pelvic fracture

A musculoskeletal injury that carries the greatest risk for shock due to significant blood loss.