Medical/Legal and Ethical Issues

Which type of consent must be used by the EMT when seeking to treat a mentally competent adult?

• Unconditional consent

• Expressed consent

• Conscious consent

• Implied consent

Which of the following refers to the set of regulations that defines the legal actions expected and limitations placed on the EMT?

• Scope of practice

• Legal standards of practice

• Protocols and standing orders

• Professional standards

The administration of oxygen and the application of spinal immobilization is part of which of the following for the EMT?

• Duty to act

• Standard of care

• Scope of practice

• None of the above

Which of the following refers to the care that would be expected to be provided by an EMT with similar training when caring for a patient in a similar situation?

• Scope of practice

• Standard of care

• Protocols and standing orders

• Professional standards

Your patient is a 40-year-old known diabetic who was found unconscious at work by a coworker. What type of consent allows you to treat this patient?

• Consent for treatment of minor emergencies

• Consent for mentally incompetent adults

• Expressed consent

• Implied consent

Your patient is a 10-year-old boy who suffered a possible fractured arm while rollerblading at a friend's house. Which of the following is the BEST way to obtain consent for treatment?

• Act on implied consent.

• Get consent from the patient's 15-year-old sister, who is at the scene.

• Call the patient's mother at work.

• Allow the patient to consent as an emancipated minor.

You respond to a middle school for a 12-year-old male patient who has been hit by a car. You get consent to treat the patient from the school principal. What concept allows the principal to speak for the parents?

• In loco parentis

• Informed consent

• Res ipsa loquitur

• Healthcare proxy

You are on the scene with a 72-year-old male patient with chest pain. The patient is complaining of shortness of breath but also refuses to go to the hospital, even after multiple attempts urging him to go. Which of the following should you do next?

• Stay with the patient until he loses consciousness.

• Fully inform the patient about his situation and the implications of refusing care.

• Inform the patient that he is having a "heart attack" and must be taken to the hospital for evaluation.

• Contact medical direction for orders to restrain the patient.

If the EMT is in doubt as to whether a patient in cardiac arrest should be resuscitated, which of the following is the best decision?

• Have the patient's family put their wishes in writing.

• Withhold resuscitative measures.

• Consult with the patient's physician.

• Begin resuscitative measures.

Which of the following is NOT required to prove a claim of negligence against an EMT?

• The EMT had a duty to act.

• Proximate causation existed.

• The EMT failed to act according to the standard of care.

• The patient was in fear of bodily harm at the time of the incident.