85) You and another EMT are discussing a call he previously ran. The EMT said the patient had
classic chest pain symptoms and he treated it as a possible heart attack, but he later found out the
patient just had indigestion and was discharged 2 hours later. The EMT was concerned that his
patient assessment skills were not as good as they should be, and that the ED physician will no
longer trust his judgment. How should you respond to his concerns?
A) Tell him that his misdiagnosis is a common EMT mistake caused by illusionary correlation.
B) Tell him that his misdiagnosis is a result of anchoring.
C) Tell him that his misdiagnosis is a result of confirmation bias.
D) Tell him that his misdiagnosis is a result of limited information.
Objective: 14.14
41
86) You are on the scene in the bad part of town for an unresponsive 18-year-old type 1 diabetic
patient. His mother states that he is very noncompliant with his diabetes management and goes
unresponsive often due to low blood sugar. After performing the primary assessment, you believe
that this is the most likely cause of his unresponsiveness. However, after taking a capillary
glucose reading you are surprised to see that the patient’s sugar level is normal. How will you
now determine the field impression?
A) Recognize that the mother was lying to you. The patient is not diabetic and you now must
assume that everything she told you is wrong.
B) You cannot make a correct diagnosis in the field because you cannot perform all the necessary
tests with your limited scope of practice.
C) Recognize that the mother is probably trying to protect her son from jail. Tell her that it is
critical that she tell you what drugs he actually took.
D) Continue patient care by getting a complete SAMPLE history and perform a complete
secondary assessment.
Objective: 14.14
42
87) You are on the scene of a 16-year-old patient in respiratory distress. The patient has a history
of asthma. After placing the patient on oxygen and performing the primary and secondary
assessments, you are confident that the patient is indeed having an asthma attack. How can you
be sure your field diagnosis is accurate?
A) Keep your EMT textbook with you on the ambulance and review it to confirm your diagnosis.
B) Ask your partner her opinion; if she also agrees that it is asthma, the diagnosis is correct.
C) Constantly reassess the patient to make sure you are correct.
D) Think of all possible causes of respiratory distress and rule them in or out as potential
diagnoses based on your clinical findings.
Objective: 14.14
88) You respond to a motor vehicle collision and find a patient with an altered mental status and
angulated left femur; the other driver is deceased. Your closest trauma center is 45 minutes away.
Which of the following would you do next?
A) Apply a traction splint.
B) Request ALS personnel.
C) Transport the patient to a local medical clinic for evaluation by a physician.
D) Perform a detailed physical exam.
Objective: 14.14
43
89) An EMT’s assessment differs from an assessment made in the emergency department in
which way?
A) An EMT’s focus is on life threats first.
B) Time is available in the emergency department to make a diagnosis.
C) The emergency physician is concerned with scene safety.
D) The EMT is working with limited resources.
Objective: 14.14
90) The process by which an EMT forms a field diagnosis is known as:
A) critical thinking.
B) differential thinking.
C) clinical thinking.
D) diagnostic thinking.
Objective: 14.14
44
91) While an EMT forms a field diagnosis on the scene of an emergency, how do the steps differ
from the traditional approach to diagnosis?
A) The EMT forms a field diagnosis within the first few minutes of the call to formulate
treatment as quickly as possible.
B) Due to the limited time spent with the patient, the EMT must rely on a differential diagnosis.
C) The EMT must rule in or out the most serious conditions associated with the patient’s
presentation.
D) The EMT does not have time to form a differential diagnosis and must rely on prior
experience when treating a patient.
Objective: 14.14
92) ________ are signs or symptoms that suggest the possibility of a particular problem that is
very serious.
A) Pertinent negatives
B) Differentials
C) Red flags
D) All of the above
Objective: 14.14
45
93) Which of the following is one advantage of using heuristics?
A) It provides a more accurate diagnosis.
B) It speeds up the process of diagnosis.
C) It allows you to treat the patient during diagnosis.
D) It slows the process of diagnosis.
Objective: 14.14
94) “If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck—except when it isn’t” is a
way to summarize which of the following?
A) Representativeness
B) Illusory correlation
C) Overconfidence
D) Confirmation bias
Objective: 14.14
46
95) Which of the following describes skepticism about one thing causing another?
A) Availability
B) Illusory correlation
C) Representativeness
D) Confirmation bias
Objective: 14.14
96) Expert clinicians may use different approaches of thinking through problems, but which of
the following will they have in common?
A) Knowledge that one strategy works for everyone
B) Strong foundation of knowledge
C) Dislike of ambiguity
D) Organization of data in their head
Objective: 14.14
47
97) A description of a patient’s condition that assists a clinician in further evaluation and
treatment is known as which of the following?
A) Red flag
B) Critical thinking
C) Diagnosis
D) Clinical decision
Objective: 14.14
98) Which of the following situations is most likely to result in hidden or unsuspected injury?
A) Deformity of the interior compartment of the vehicle
B) A vehicle without air bags
C) Seat belt use by the vehicle occupants
D) Collisions that occur at night
Objective: 14.14
48
99) Your elderly patient reports having stomach cramps for several hours. He denies any trauma
and he hasn’t eaten for several hours. Which of the following is more important to your
assessment of this patient?
A) Asking if he has been having regular bowel movements
B) Determining if he has been taking his medications as prescribed
C) Finding out if he has any chest pain
D) Asking him if he is able to walk
Objective: 14.14
100) Of the following, which would most likely give the best information regarding your
patient’s mental status?
A) Pulse and respiratory rate
B) List of allergies
C) List of medications
D) Last oral intake
Objective: 14.14
49
101) A list of potential diagnoses compiled early in the patient’s assessment is known as which of
the following?
A) Emergency medical diagnosis
B) Assessment-based diagnosis
C) Differential diagnosis
D) Traditional diagnosis
Objective: 14.14
50