EMT- Finale Test Review

Final Exam Study Guide EB 2024 – 120 questions in two hours


  1. Know which splints are appropriate for clavicles, closed shaft femur fractures, ulna / radius

Clavicles: Sling and Swathe

Closed shaft femur fractures: Hare and Sager traction splints

Ulna Radius: Sam splint

  1. Know how to position and transport abdominal pain patients

Left lateral recumbent with the knees flexed

  1. Know how to call a hospital on the radio and give report

  • identify yourself and wait for dispatch to respond

  • Provide Basic Information (Unit and ETA, Patient Age and Gender, Chief complaint or reason for transport)

  • Detailed Report (MOI/NOI, signs/symptoms, interventions)

    • Be sure to be concise

    • repeat

    • update if needed

  1. Know what patients need to be reported to law enforcement

  • Children/Elders who are facing abuse & neglect 

  • Domestic Violence 

  • Death

  1. Know the positions and job responsibilities of MCI personnel

  • Incident Commander-

    •  Establish overall command and control of the scene.

    • Develop and implement the Incident Action Plan (IAP).

    • Coordinate with all sectors, including fire, EMS, police, and other responding agencies.

    • Communicate with emergency operations centers (EOCs) or hospitals.

  • Triage officer-

  • Public Information Office- Talk to general public/News

  • Safety Officer-  Can override the IC. On Scene, In charge of general safety

  • Liaison Officer - Representative that serves as a communication channel between agencies 

  • Transport Officer - 

  1. Know when to remove helmets

When it is blocking access to the airway

  1. Know who gets DCAP-BTLS & OPQRST assessments

  • An unreliable trauma patient

  1. Define unified command

  • multiple agencies working under the same command: One representative from each agency.

  1. Know: Expressed, informed, implied, and parental consent

  • Expressed Consent: Verbally informed  

  • Informed Consent: An Emt informs the patients of the risks and benefits of a treatment

  • Implied Consent:A patient, who is in a critical condition, it is implied that they would want the treatment (AMS or unconscious)

  • Parental Consent: parent must approve of a treatment for minors

  1. Know how to make corrections to mistakes on a written PCR

  • Put a line through the wrong statement, And initial it 

  1. Know the stages of labor and what occurs in the first, second, and third trimesters

  • First Trimester (0-13 weeks)

    • Early development: The fertilized egg implants in the uterus, forming the placenta.

    • Organ formation: The baby’s heart, brain, spinal cord, and organs start to form.

    • Early symptoms: Nausea, fatigue, and hormonal changes in the mother.

    • Possible spontaneous abortions 

  • Second Trimester (14-26 weeks)

    • Growth and movement: The baby grows rapidly, and the mother may feel the baby move.

    • Organ maturation: Organs continue to develop, and the baby’s skeleton hardens.

    • Visible changes: The belly grows, and the mother’s symptoms often improve.

    • Complications such as placenta previa and abruptio

  • Third Trimester (27-40 weeks)

    • Final development: The baby gains weight, organs mature, and it prepares for birth.

    • Positioning: The baby moves into a head-down position.

    • Preparation for birth: The mother may feel contractions as the body prepares for labor

  • Stages of Labor

    • 1. Dilation of cervix

      • about 16 hrs

    • 2. Expulsion

      • 1-2 min contraction cycles, contraction lasts 30s-1min

      • Crowning = imminent delivery

    • 3. Placental delivery

  1. Know the complications of applying splints

  • Extreme Pain, Loss of PMS

  • A complication of applying tourniquet is not having a pulse 

  1. Define child abuse and child neglect

  • (intentional or unintentional harm) Neglect: the failure of someone to provide necessities for a person under their care

  • (intentional harm only) Abuse: the physical act of hurting a person 

  1.  Know that all patients with respiratory distress get oxygen in the primary assessment.

  2. What medicine is in an inhaler, and what are its actions?

  • Albuterol. Bronchodilator 

  1. Know the size of the tank in your first-in bag.

  • Class D, 2,000 psi

  1. Know what OB emergencies allow you to place your fingers in the patient’s vagina

  • Prolapsed cord (cord out first) + breech presentation with entrapped head (buttocks/legs)

  1. Know BEFAST      

  • Balance, Eyes, Facial Droop, Arm Drift, Slurred Speech, Last time seen normal

  1. What could cause a patient to vomit blood

  • GI bleed (add on?)

  1. What is the function of the small intestine?

  • Absorption/Keep toxins away

  • Site of digestion via its own hydrolytic enzymes, some from pancreas, and bile. First site of absorption of nutrients.

  1. Why is the brain stem so important? What is its function?

  • The brain stem consists of the midbrain, pons and medulla oblongata. Midbrain controls some motor control and sensory functions, the pons coordinates eye and face movements/facial sensation/hearing and balance, but most importantly is the medulla oblongata which controls breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure, and swallowing. Any severe damage to the medulla will kill you.

  1. Know what patients get a short backboard / KED

  • Stable Patient who is sitting and has a suspected spinal injury

  1. Signs, symptoms, and treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning

  • Signs/symptoms- Weakness, dizziness, altered level of consciousness, nausea/headache

  • Essentially the carbon monoxide is provided to cells instead of oxygen, which poisons the cells

  • Treat by moving away from area of suspected carbon monoxide presence followed by high flow oxygen

  1. What infectious disease could cause a person to cough up blood? What PPE would you use?

  • Tuberculosis, Eye wear, mask, gloves. 

  1. Know your terms: lateral, medial, proximal, distal, superior, inferior 

  • Superior and Inferior:  

    • Superior:  

      • Nearer to the head  

    •  Inferior:  

      • Nearer to the feet  

    • Terms describe the relationship of one structure to another: 

      • Example: The knee is superior to the foot and inferior to the pelvis

        • Knee is above the foot and below the pelvis

  • Lateral and Medial: 

    • Lateral (outer): 

      • Body that lie farther from the midline 

    • Medial (inner): 

      • Body parts that lie closer to the midline 

  • Proximal and Distal: The relationship between any two structures on an extremity (arms and legs)

    • Proximal: Closer to a joint  

    • Distal: farther from the joint

  •  Posterior and Anterior: 

    • Anterior: front 

    • Posterior: back

  1. Capillary, venous, and arterial bleeding severity and treatments

  • ARTERIAL- Spurting Bright red Blood, Higher pressure more difficult to control. Oxygen Rich blood

  • VENOUS- Flow normally or slowly. Oxygen poor Blood. Darker Colored.

  • CAPILLARY-Usually minor. Dark red. Oozing. Will most of the time clot on its own.

  1. Know how to do a head-tilt chin-lift and jaw thrust

  • If you don’t know “shame” (YUSEF)

  1. Delirium vs hallucination

  • Delirium : altered state of mind (Cannot hold a conversation with)

  • Hallucination: altered sensory perceptions(Can hold a conversation)

  • Delirium can lead to hallucinations

  1. Who declares an MCI

  • First on scene/Incident Commander

  1. What is ominous about a decreased level of consciousness in pediatrics?

  • The child is on the verge of death

  1. What do you do before cutting off the roof of a car for patient access?

  • Try the car doors

  1. Know eclampsia and how to treat / transport. You do NOT need ALS TRANSPORT

  • High BP for pregnant patients in 2nd semester

  • Left lateral recumbent, patent airway, O2

  • seizures

  1. Know the potential causes for barotrauma due to changes in pressure.

  • Scuba diving

  1. Define inadequate breathing

  • Breathing that is insufficient to support bodily functions

  • Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, or visible signs of labored breathing like chest movement that is not sufficient

  1. Know how to treat chemical burns

  • Call hazmat

  1. Define laceration, avulsion, hematoma, contusion

  • Laceration: a jagged cut

  • Avulsion: A detachment of the skin (flap)

  • Hematoma: The pooling of blood outside a blood vessel (swollen bruise essentially)

  • Contusion: Bruising (ecchymosis present)

  1. What is going on during a D&C (OB)?

  • Dilation & curettage : expands the cervix to remove the uterine lining (endometrium) of abnormal tissues.

  • After abortion sometimes

  1. How might a hypertensive patient present and complain about?

  • Headache, nausea/vomiting, chest pain, nosebleed, blurred vision, dizziness, AMS, numbness/weakness

  1. Know organophosphate poisoning (insecticide) and how it relates to SLUDGEM / DUMBELS

  • Anticholinergics

  • Salivation, Lacrimation, Urination, Defecation, Gastrointestinal issues, Emesis, Miosis

  1. DNR for financial reasons is stupid

  2. How would a woman with a UTI present?

  • Frequent urination, burning sensation during urination

  • Cloudy or foul-smelling urine, blood in urine

  • Lower abdominal pain or pressure, back pain

  • Fever, nausea, vomiting

  1. Know prolapse & nuchal cord emergencies

  • Nuchal cord (cord over baby’s neck): gently try removing the umbilical cord from the baby’s neck

  • Prolapse cord (cord delivers first): stick your hand in the vagina, keep the baby breathing 

  1. Identify patients with croup

  • Upper respiratory disease, usually in children

  • Narrowing → causes a seal like bark

  • give high flow

  1. Know how to deliver a baby, cut the cord and deliver the placenta

  1. Know how to care for a newborn, know APGAR and how to resuscitate

  • APGAR: do at 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth

    • A: Appearance

    • P: Pulse 

    • G: Grimace 

    • A: Activity

    • R: Respiration

  • Tap the baby’s foot for stimulation

  • Suction the baby and give baby breaths with bvm

  • REMEMBER 5!!!!!

  1. If you want to know if the patient is bleeding or determine the amount of blood loss, the heart rate tells you that. The faster the heart rate, the more blood loss is/has occurred.

  2. Heat exhaustion vs heat stroke

  • During heat exhaustion, your body actively compensates for the excessive heat so although your body will be hot, because your sweat elicits evaporative cooling it won't be too extreme. During heat stroke, your body has lost this ability to compensate via sweating, so patient will have even higher body temperatures (symptoms like dry/maybe damp skin, LOC/AMS, weak pulse)

  1. Respiratory distress vs failure vs arrest

  • Distress: The person is struggling to breathe

  • Failure: The lungs cannot compensate for the amount of oxygen the body needs

  1. Define peritonitis. What can cause it?

  • Inflammation of peritoneal cavity

  1. Know how to stop bleeding and what PPE to use for the various types of bleeding

  2. What is the concern with patients that have a sudden improvement from depression?

  • Planned Suicide that they are happy about

  1. What does a window punch do regarding extrication?

  • Breaks a car window on the vehicle

  1. Assessments go A, then B, and then C, which are the highest priority. Vitals are the very last thing you do

  2. What training does and EMR receive?

  3. Eviscerations, define and treat

  • Guts are out

  • Keep them warm & moist

  • Supine with knees flexed

  1. Know the stages of shock and what defines the stages

  • Compensated shock: the body is able to provide blood to the organs that need it.

  • Decompensated shock: the body cannot provide blood flow anymore to the organs

  • Irreversible:no point of return

  1. Define partial thickness burn

  • Burn that goes through the epidermis and part of the dermis, aka second degree

  1. Know how to manage a multi-system trauma patient.

  2. Pocket mask vs one person BVM. Which is better and why?

  3. Define APHASIA and APHAGIA 

  • Aphasia is the loss of the ability to communicate properly, involving both interpretation or expression of language. 

  • Aphagia is the inability to swallow

  1. Know how to clear a partially obstructed airway

  2. Sometimes, 4 LPM nasal is all you need for cardiac patients 

  3. Know everything about anaphylaxis and epinephrine auto injector

  4. Visceral vs somatic – define them

  • Visceral: Inside organs

  • Somatic: Muscles, skin, and bones

  1. What does and does not go into a PCR

  2. 5 →this is the apgar score 

  3. What is unified command?

  4. Know how to treat a patient with a terminal disease and how to interact with the family

    1. do not say “i understand” 

    2. Never lie

  5. Adsorption & absorption: what is the difference 

    1. adsorption is like binding of charcoal to GI tract

  6. Kyphosis, what is it and how do we use longboards if this is present?

  • Kyphosis is being hunchback, rounding off the back. You place blankets behind the patient's head when placing them on a longboard.

  1. What is an absent seizure and what is it also known as?

  • Daydreaming. staring off into space. 

  • Petit mal seizure

  1. Normal respiratory rate and tidal volume for an adult is…

  • 12-20 respirations, 500mL tidal volume

  1. Who typically gets a nasal cannula

    1. need oxygen, cannot tolerate high flow mask

    2. can help calm the patient

  2. The target compression fraction during CPR is?

  • 80%