43) Immediately following a rapid physical exam on an unresponsive medical patient, which of
the following should you do next?
A) Obtain baseline vital signs.
B) Check the scene for medications.
C) Find out who the patient’s doctor is.
D) Perform a focused physical exam.
Objective: 14.7
44) You respond to the scene of a motor vehicle crash to find a middle-aged man on a long spine
board being cared for by first responding firefighters. He appears to be bleeding from his head
and he is unconscious. You should check the car for:
A) a bent steering wheel or starred windshield.
B) insurance information or identification.
C) personal items too valuable to leave on-scene.
D) a deployed passenger-side air bag.
Objective: 14.8
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45) Your patient is a 45-year-old female who complains of “twisting her ankle” when she slipped
on a patch of ice. Which of the following is NOT appropriate?
A) Questioning about any other complaints or areas of pain
B) Secondary assessment
C) Providing emotional support, if necessary
D) Detailed physical exam
Objective: 14.8
46) In medical terms, bruises are known as which of the following?
A) Abrasion
B) Discoloration
C) Blemish
D) Contusion
Objective: 14.9
47) Your patient was struck in the chest with a baseball bat during a bar fight. A crackling or
crunching sensation that is felt when air escapes from its normal passageways and is trapped
under the skin is called:
A) friction rub.
B) crepitus.
C) infiltration.
D) subcutaneous emphysema.
Objective: 14.9
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48) Which of the following is another term for trauma?
A) Suffering
B) Injury
C) Medical problem
D) Illness
Objective: 14.9
49) Which of the following is NOT a purpose of a rapid trauma assessment?
A) To detect injuries that may become life threatening
B) To provide a basis for care during transport
C) To assess the extent of injuries
D) To focus care on specific injuries
Objective: 14.9
50) You are assessing a 21-year-old female who was assaulted by an unknown person. She is
complaining of abdominal pain. As you perform a rapid assessment of her abdomen, you should
check for all of the following except:
A) bowel sounds.
B) firmness.
C) distention.
D) contusions.
Objective: 14.9
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51) Your patient is the 18-year-old male driver of a vehicle that struck a tree. He is conscious and
complaining of neck pain. The passenger is obviously dead. You have performed your primary
assessment. Which of the following is the next step?
A) Immobilize the patient on a long backboard and perform a detailed examination in the
ambulance.
B) Rule out the possibility of cervical spine injury before moving the patient.
C) Perform a tertiary assessment.
D) Perform a rapid trauma assessment.
Objective: 14.9
52) An unconscious trauma patient should always be assumed to have which of the following
types of injury?
A) Cardiac
B) Spine
C) Skull
D) Abdominal
Objective: 14.9
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53) Your patient is a 14-year-old male who was run over by a tractor and is now unresponsive.
During the rapid assessment, you should look for clear drainage coming from the patient’s
________ indicating a serious injury.
A) eyes
B) ears
C) rectum
D) mouth
Objective: 14.9
54) You are on the scene of a patient who is the victim of an assault. The scene is safe. You find a
22-year-old male patient responsive to painful stimuli only. His blood pressure is 180/80, pulse is
60, respirations are 12, and his oxygen saturation is 95% on room air. How would you classify
this patient?
A) Stable. The patient does not have hypotension.
B) Unstable. The patient is hypertensive.
C) Stable. The patient’s pulse, respirations, and oxygen saturation are within normal limits.
D) Unstable. The patient is responsive to painful stimuli only.
Objective: 14.9
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55) Mr. Green is complaining of severe difficulty breathing after being stung by a bee. His wife
states he has had reactions to bee stings before, but not quite this severe. Which medications
should you specifically ask him about?
A) Antihistamines
B) Inhaler
C) Nitroglycerine tablets
D) Epinephrine auto-injector
Objective: 14.10
56) When assessing a patient’s pertinent past history, you should ask which of the following
questions?
A) Are you currently taking any medications?
B) Have you been having any medical problems?
C) Have you ever had a reaction to a medication?
D) Could you describe what happened?
Objective: 14.10
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57) You have responded for a patient with shortness of breath. He reports that his breathing
problems began this morning and have gotten worse over the last few hours. You ask if he has
taken anything to help his symptoms and he tells you that he has used his inhaler several times in
the last hour. The information you have just gathered can be classified as:
A) the history of present illness.
B) relevant past medical history.
C) results of a rapid physical exam.
D) part of the SAMPLE history.
Objective: 14.10
58) You have performed a rapid trauma assessment on a patient with multiple long-bone injuries.
Your next assessment step should be which of the following?
A) Perform a detailed physical exam.
B) Transport the patient to the hospital and perform a detailed physical exam.
C) Call the ALS unit to determine their ETA before deciding your next step.
D) Obtain baseline vital signs and past medical history.
Objective: 14.11
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59) While assessing the past medical history of a 68-year-old male patient involved in a fall from
a 4-foot stepladder, you use the acronym SAMPLE. What does the A refer to?
A) Assessment
B) Acuity
C) Allergies
D) Amputations
Objective: 14.11
60) You are called for a patient who reports a headache for several days. He tells you that he has
started a new blood pressure medication and is finishing an antibiotic for a skin infection. During
your history taking, you should:
A) write down the pertinent facts.
B) get your patient to repeat his chief complaint.
C) suggest that he take some aspirin.
D) suspect an allergic reaction.
Objective: 14.11
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61) When using the memory aid SAMPLE, which of the following would you do to determine
L?
A) Look at the patient’s pupils.
B) Ask, “When was the last time you took your medicine?”
C) Listen to the patient’s lung sounds.
D) Ask, “When was the last time you had anything to eat or drink?”
Objective: 14.11
62) What is the first step in the reassessment process?
A) Secondary assessment
B) Primary assessment
C) Vital signs
D) Focused history and physical exam
Objective: 14.12
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63) During reassessment you notice that your patient is making gurgling sounds. Which of the
following should you do immediately?
A) Assist ventilations with a bag-valve-mask device.
B) Place the patient in the recovery position.
C) Suction the airway.
D) Increase the amount of oxygen being delivered to the patient.
Objective: 14.12
64) You are treating a 57-year-old male for chest pain. You have gathered all pertinent history of
present illness, completed two sets of vital signs, talked with medical direction, and assisted the
patient with two doses of his nitroglycerin. Determination of whether or not the nitroglycerin
was effective is assessed during the:
A) primary assessment.
B) secondary assessment.
C) reassessment.
D) primary and secondary assessment.
Objective: 14.12
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