You: The Emergency Medical Technician Quiz

Answer: Is the scene secure (i.e., police are present and in control at the scene)?

Your safety and the safety of your team is *the* most important thing. If you are injured or incapacitated, you will be of little help to the victim.

Answer: Apply cellophane/plastic wrap directly to the wound.

You are looking at a "sucking chest wound," which means the patient has a collapsed lung and air is seeping through the wound causing the bubbles. if air is escaping, it is also entering through the wound. This is an immediate life-threatening injury. You must stop further collapse of the lung. Apply cellophane/plastic wrap (yes, every ambulance carries this) to stop the passage of air into the wound.

The dressing should be taped in place on 3 sides, leaving the 4th side open to allow air to escape, but not to enter. Get your patient to the hospital ASAP - he needs a chest tube to re-inflate the lung right away.

Answer: Your patient overuses and/or improperly uses the services of emergency medical personnel.

Frequent flyers are people who overuse or abuse EMS services. If you have ever called an ambulance for a blister, a sore throat, an ingrown hair or an annoying twitch of your eye, you are probably a frequent flyer. If you have ever called 911 and then waited patiently on your front step reading a book with a bag packed, you are probably a frequent flyer. And if you have ever called an ambulance at 3AM because you would rather wake up a 4-person crew than bother your sleeping spouse or call a taxi to drive you to the hospital, you are probably a frequent flyer. (And, yes, I have personally responded to 911 calls that were exactly each of these situations.)

Answer: Leave him where he is.

You have to leave him. If he is alert and oriented, he can make his own decisions, even if you do not agree with that decision. If you forcibly take him to a hospital, you could be charged with assault and kidnapping. You cannot take extended time to convince him to go...he may not ever agree. And you cannot promise he won't get a needle. You don't know that and cannot arrange that.

Make sure he signs a "refusal of medical attention" and be on your way. If you feel, however, that the patient's mental capacity is compromised or diminished in some way (i.e., he is not alert and/or oriented to time, place and person), then you can ask the police to take him into protective custody. Only then can you transport him against his wishes.

Answer: Yes

If you feel comfortable treating 20 patients at the same time, go for it! (Though 20 is a bit of a stretch.) Just remember: once you make contact with a patient either by touch or verbally, you are obligated to continue evaluation and treatment until he refuses further care or until you turn over his care to an equal or higher authority (like another EMT, a nurse or doctor).

Answer: Backboard, hard cervical collar and head blocks.

It takes more than just a hard cervical collar to immobilize a neck. If you've ever had one on, then you know you can easily turn your head with it on. To maximize its effectiveness, it must be used in conjunction with a backboard and head blocks (stiff Styrofoam blocks secured next to the patient's ears). Oh...there is no such thing as "shoulder immobilization traction." It sounds rather official and technical, doesn't it?

Answer: Patient is a 70 year old male who complains of crushing chest pain for about 30 minutes accompanied by sweating and nausea.

Documentation should be clear, concise, unemotional and factual. Avoid the use of abbreviations and irrelevant information. When documenting, stick to 1) what you saw, 2) what you heard, 3) what you did. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Old" is a subjective conclusion, not an observation. Documenting that he was making tea is irrelevant in this case, and technically you cannot document that as a fact, anyway, because you didn't see him making tea (though if making tea was somehow relevant, you would indicate *patient says* he was making tea). Also, the overuse of abbreviations can lead to incorrect assumptions made by someone who may read your documentation. Did this patient have at least 30 episodes of nausea/vomiting at a Parent Teacher Organization meeting or was it 30 minutes Prior To Arrival? Who is to say?

Answer: An unconscious patient automatically gives "implied consent."

Legally speaking, an unconscious patient in the US gives implied consent simply by being unconscious. We have to assume that generally, a rational, conscious person will tell you that they want medical help if they ever become unconscious.

Answer: Nothing.

You cannot divulge any information about the patient, or even who the patient is. Nosy neighbors don't often like being told no. I usually tell them that if they know family well enough to walk in the front door without ringing the bell, then go ahead in and ask the patient himself.

Answer: False

The National Standard Curriculum in the US calls for a minimum of 110 hours of approved formal classroom education. There are also continuing education (CE) requirements to maintain licensure. A nationally certified basic EMT in the US must undergo at least 72 hours of CEs every other year to remain licensed.