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WorksheetsChapter 12
Total questions: 30
Worksheet time: 15mins
Which best describes the purpose of the primary assessment in prehospital care?
Perform detailed diagnostic testing
Document all patient medications
Quickly find and treat life threats
Establish a long-term care plan
Match each term to its description.
AVPU scale
Alert/Verbal/Painful/Unresponsive mental status tool
Manual stabilization
Hands-on control of head and neck alignment
General impression
Initial overall view of patient condition
Chief complaint
Primary reason the patient sought help
Which situation requires you to prioritize circulation first before airway and breathing during the primary assessment?
Woman with spurting thigh wound likely arterial bleeding
Unresponsive patient with agonal breaths and no pulse
Man with complete airway obstruction while eating
Responsive patient with painful foot injury
Match each patient presentation to the most appropriate immediate EMT action during the primary assessment.
Unresponsive, not breathing, agonal breaths
Begin chest compressions and prepare defibrillator
Visible complete airway obstruction while eating
Suction airway and clear obstruction promptly
Spurting hemorrhage from thigh
Control life‑threatening bleeding immediately
Responsive, dropped block on foot
Perform limited primary assessment tasks
When approaching a patient who is lifeless and apneic, which sequence best reflects the C-A-B logic?
Check pulse, start compressions, then ventilate
Open airway, check breathing, then control bleeding
Form general impression, then stabilize head and neck
Control bleeding, reassess mental status, then oxygen
In the general impression phase, which immediate action is indicated when a patient appears lifeless with no breathing or only agonal breathing, as depicted in the diagram?
Start a focused secondary assessment on scene
Proceed directly to pulse check and C‑A‑B approach
Obtain SAMPLE history before interventions
Apply oxygen and reassess in five minutes
Match each airway or breathing finding shown in the diagrams to the most appropriate immediate intervention or classification.
Need to open the airway
Head‑tilt chin‑lift or jaw‑thrust
Need to suction the airway
Suction with appropriate catheter
Indicated use of oral or nasal airway
Insert OPA/NPA adjunct
Oxygen saturation below 94%
Administer oxygen and monitor
Absent or inadequate breathing
Provide assisted ventilations with BVM
A patient has significant respiratory distress with cyanosis and very low oxygen saturation, as illustrated. What is the best next step in prioritization and transport decision-making?
Delay transport until oxygen saturation normalizes
Expedite transport with limited on‑scene interventions
Perform priority determination after full secondary exam
Treat on scene with extended assessments
When assessing circulation, which sequence is appropriate for a pulseless, unresponsive patient as shown in the diagram?
Begin slow transport and detailed examination
Check capillary refill before any intervention
Apply defibrillator and perform CPR promptly
Control bleeding, then obtain SAMPLE history
Which statement best describes the purpose of forming a general impression during primary assessment?
Calculate injury severity score for documentation
Decide transport destination based on hospital capability
Set priorities using environment and chief complaint
Collect full medical history for definitive diagnosis
Begin detailed secondary assessment procedures
You arrive to a patient sitting upright. To initiate manual stabilization of the head and neck, where should your hands be placed?
Fingers over sides, thumbs behind head
Thumbs on mandible, fingers under chin
Palms on forehead, fingers on jaw
Hands cupping ears, elbows on shoulders
One hand on crown, one on occiput
Match each environmental clue with the most likely implication for patient condition.
Overturned ladder present
Possible fall mechanism and trauma
Tripod position observed
Severe respiratory distress likely
Pale, sweaty appearance
Potential shock or anxiety noted
Crumbled position after fall
Need to adapt SMR to patient position
During SMR, which head alignment should be maintained while holding manual stabilization?
Neutral, in-line with the spine
Slight flexion to protect airway
Extended position to improve flow
Turned toward rescuer for monitoring
Tilted back to prevent aspiration
Which statement best defines the chief complaint during a primary assessment?
The list of abnormal vital signs obtained
The most life-threatening condition identified
The reason EMS was called in patient words
The provider’s suspected diagnosis after exam
Match each AVPU level to its typical patient response during assessment.
Alert
Awake and oriented to person/place/time
Verbal response
Responds to spoken prompts or questions
Painful response
Responds only to a painful stimulus
Unresponsive
No response to verbal or painful stimuli
An awake patient answers questions but cannot state the correct date or location. What is the most appropriate conclusion and next action?
Patient is pain only responsive; administer analgesia
Patient is unresponsive; begin CPR immediately
Patient shows confusion; assess orientation domains
Patient is fully oriented; proceed to secondary exam
When checking circulation during primary assessment, which skin finding most suggests shock requiring high-priority care?
Flushed, hot, and sweaty skin
Pale, cool, and moist skin at wrist
Mottled, slightly cool, and dry
Warm, pink, and dry skin at wrist
Match each pulse/skin presentation to the most appropriate priority classification for transport decisions.
Very rapid pulse with major trauma
High priority: unstable
Very slow pulse with chest pain
High priority: unstable
Normal pulse with mild fever
Potentially stable: monitor
Absent radial pulse, uncontrolled bleeding
Immediate high priority
You find a responsive patient with difficulty breathing who cannot lie flat on the cot. What is the best transport priority decision?
Stable: on-scene treatment first
Low priority: routine assessment pace
Delay transport until breathing normalizes
Potentially unstable: expedited transport
Which finding most strongly indicates immediate high-priority transport from the primary assessment?
Chest pain without breathing issues
Responsive but not following commands
Poor general impression only
Unresponsive with compromised airway
In an unresponsive adult lying supine with snoring respirations, which immediate airway action is most appropriate before ventilation?
Lateral recovery position placement
Nasopharyngeal airway insertion first
Jaw thrust with cervical stabilization
Head tilt–chin lift to open airway
Match each pediatric assessment concept to its key detail.
Capillary refill in children
Return to pink in about two seconds
Pediatric airway opening
Move head to neutral position, not tilt back
Building rapport with a child
Kneel to child’s level and speak calmly
Breathing and heart rates in children
Typically faster than in adults
A responsive adult complaining of abdominal pain is speaking clearly and has 98% pulse oximetry. What priority decision is most appropriate?
Proceed with assessment; categorize as stable
Administer high-concentration oxygen now
Begin CPR and reassess circulation
Immediate transport due to pain severity
When checking circulation in an unresponsive infant, which pulse site should be used first during the primary assessment?
Femoral pulse in the groin
Brachial pulse on the upper arm
Carotid pulse in the neck
Radial pulse at the wrist
Match each age group with the typical respiratory rate characteristic noted during primary assessment.
Adults
Slower baseline respiratory rates
Children (1–5 years)
Faster than adults, moderate increase
Infants (to 1 year)
Fastest baseline respiratory rates
During an adult primary assessment, you find no signs of life and only agonal respirations. Which initial action aligns with the C‑A‑B approach?
Begin chest compressions after confirming no pulse
Open the airway before checking circulation
Provide high‑flow oxygen via nonrebreather mask
Assess mental status using the AVPU scale
A 78-year-old unconscious male has snoring respirations after a fall. What is the most appropriate immediate airway intervention before reassessing breathing?
Begin chest compressions and apply AED pads
Insert nonrebreather mask and increase oxygen flow
Perform jaw-thrust and place an oropharyngeal airway
Apply nasal cannula and encourage deep breathing
Match each finding with the priority decision during primary assessment.
Unresponsive with arterial neck bleeding
Immediate life threat—control bleeding first
Alert with broken ankle only
Stable; continue full assessment
Not moving and not breathing
Cardiac arrest; start CPR and ventilations
A middle-aged male is unresponsive after being struck by a car, with gurgling sounds from the airway. You are alone. What should you plan to do first?
Apply a splint to suspected fractures immediately
Search for medical alert jewelry and medications
Open airway, suction, and provide ventilations
Obtain a full set of vital signs before interventions
A 7-year-old with known seizures is unresponsive to voice and painful stimuli; there is visible saliva that is suctioned easily, and oxygen is given by nonrebreather. As he becomes more responsive, how does his priority status change during the call?
Remains high priority despite improvement
Downgrades from high to lower priority
Does not affect priority classification
Upgrades from low to high priority
