NREMT EMT practice quiz

Question 1

You arrive on scene to find a 58-year-old man clutching his chest and diaphoretic. He is alert but anxious. What is your FIRST priority during the primary assessment?

Accepted Answer

Assess airway, breathing, and circulation

Answer

Apply the cardiac monitor leads

Answer

Obtain a full set of vital signs and a 12-lead reading before anything else

Answer

Administer aspirin immediately before assessing any other findings

Question 2

During your primary assessment of an unresponsive trauma patient, you note the patient is breathing inadequately. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Provide ventilations with a bag-valve-mask

Answer

Apply a cervical collar

Answer

Insert an oropharyngeal airway and reassess the patient's breathing again

Answer

Check the patient's blood glucose

Question 3

A 72-year-old woman presents with slurred speech and left-sided weakness that began 45 minutes ago. Her blood glucose is 110 mg/dL. What is your MOST appropriate action?

Accepted Answer

Rapidly transport to a stroke center

Answer

Perform a detailed secondary assessment on scene

Answer

Administer oral glucose and transport

Answer

Position the patient supine with legs elevated

Question 4

You are assessing a patient's pulse and note it is weak, thready, and rapid at 120 bpm. The patient's skin is cool and diaphoretic. These findings are MOST indicative of:

Accepted Answer

Hypovolemic shock

Answer

Heat exhaustion

Answer

Anxiety attack, with a rapid pulse caused by emotional stress and hyperventilation

Answer

Anaphylaxis

Question 5

During your secondary assessment, you ask a patient with abdominal pain about onset, provocation, quality, region, severity, and timing. This assessment tool is known as:

Accepted Answer

OPQRST

Answer

AVPU scale

Answer

DCAP-BTLS

Answer

SAMPLE history

Question 6

A patient responds to verbal stimuli by opening his eyes and mumbling incoherently. He withdraws from painful stimuli. What is his Glasgow Coma Scale score?

Accepted Answer

9

Answer

11

Answer

10

Answer

8

Question 7

You arrive at a two-car MVC. The driver of the first car is entrapped and unresponsive. The second driver is ambulatory with neck pain. How should you manage this scene?

Accepted Answer

Request additional resources and begin with the entrapped patient

Answer

Begin with a detailed physical exam on both patients

Answer

Treat the ambulatory patient first

Answer

Triage using START and assign both patients green

Question 8

A 45-year-old man with diabetes is found unresponsive at home. Blood glucose is 42 mg/dL. His airway is patent and he is breathing. What is your INITIAL treatment?

Accepted Answer

Position him supine and apply oxygen

Answer

Perform a full secondary assessment

Answer

Establish an IV and give dextrose before any airway management steps

Answer

Administer oral glucose, because he is able to swallow safely on his own

Question 9

During reassessment of a stable patient, you should evaluate vital signs and reassess the chief complaint at minimum every:

Accepted Answer

15 minutes

Answer

5 minutes

Answer

30 minutes

Answer

10 minutes

Question 10

A 30-year-old woman presents with sudden severe headache, nausea, and nuchal rigidity. She is alert and oriented. What is the MOST appropriate transport decision?

Accepted Answer

Rapid transport to a facility with CT capabilities

Answer

Delay transport to complete a full secondary assessment

Answer

Transport to a psychiatric facility

Answer

Non-urgent transport to the nearest hospital

Question 11

You are managing the airway of an unresponsive patient who is vomiting. After suctioning the oropharynx, what is your NEXT intervention?

Accepted Answer

Insert an OPA and begin BVM ventilations

Answer

Perform a head-tilt/chin-lift and assess breathing

Answer

Place the patient in the recovery position

Answer

Insert an NPA and begin BVM ventilations

Question 12

An OPA is contraindicated in a patient who:

Accepted Answer

Has an intact gag reflex

Answer

Is breathing inadequately

Answer

Has facial trauma

Answer

Has a decreased level of consciousness

Question 13

You are ventilating an apneic adult patient with a BVM at 15 LPM of oxygen. What is the correct rate of ventilations?

Accepted Answer

1 breath every 5-6 seconds

Answer

1 breath every 8-10 seconds

Answer

1 breath every 3-4 seconds

Answer

30 compressions followed by 2 breaths

Question 14

A patient with suspected basilar skull fracture requires airway management. Which airway adjunct should you AVOID?

Accepted Answer

NPA

Answer

Head-tilt/chin-lift

Answer

Jaw-thrust maneuver

Answer

OPA

Question 15

A patient in respiratory distress has SpO2 of 88% on room air. He is alert and breathing spontaneously. What oxygen delivery device is MOST appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Non-rebreather mask at 15 LPM

Answer

Bag-valve-mask ventilations at 15 LPM with an oropharyngeal airway in place

Answer

Simple face mask at 6 LPM, since the patient has no distress at rest

Answer

Nasal cannula at 2 LPM, since the patient is alert and breathing alone

Question 16

You arrive to find a 3-year-old who is drooling, sitting in a tripod position, and has a muffled voice. The child is febrile. What condition should you MOST suspect?

Accepted Answer

Epiglottitis

Answer

Foreign body airway obstruction

Answer

Asthma exacerbation

Answer

Croup

Question 17

When suctioning a patient's oropharynx, what is the MAXIMUM duration for each suction pass?

Accepted Answer

10 seconds

Answer

15 seconds

Answer

20 seconds

Answer

5 seconds

Question 18

An adult patient is apneic with a palpable carotid pulse. You should provide rescue ventilations at a rate of:

Accepted Answer

1 breath every 5-6 seconds

Answer

15 compressions then 2 breaths

Answer

1 breath every 3-4 seconds

Answer

30 compressions then 2 breaths

Question 19

A 68-year-old man presents with crushing chest pain, shortness of breath, and nausea. BP is 148/92, HR 92, SpO2 94%. What medication should you administer FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Aspirin 324 mg chewed

Answer

Oral glucose

Answer

Albuterol via nebulizer

Answer

Nitroglycerin 0.4 mg sublingual

Question 20

A patient with chest pain has a systolic blood pressure of 82 mmHg. He reports taking sildenafil 12 hours ago. Which medication is CONTRAINDICATED?

Accepted Answer

Nitroglycerin

Answer

Oral glucose

Answer

Aspirin

Answer

Aspirin, because it can cause a drop in blood pressure in these patients