Emergency Care, 13e (Limmer et al.)
Chapter 4 Medical/Legal and Ethical Issues
1) Which type of consent must be used by the EMT when seeking to treat a mentally competent
adult?
A) Unconditional consent
B) Expressed consent
C) Conscious consent
D) Implied consent
Objective: 4.1
2) Which of the following refers to the set of regulations that defines the legal actions expected
and limitations placed on the EMT?
A) Scope of practice
B) Legal standards of practice
C) Protocols and standing orders
D) Professional standards
Objective: 4.1
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3) The administration of oxygen and the application of spinal immobilization is part of which of
the following for the EMT?
A) Duty to act
B) Standard of care
C) Scope of practice
D) None of the above
Objective: 4.2
4) 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?
A) Scope of practice
B) Standard of practice
C) Protocols and standing orders
D) Professional standards
Objective: 4.3
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5) 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?
A) Consent for treatment of minor emergencies
B) Consent for mentally incompetent adults
C) Expressed consent
D) Implied consent
Objective: 4.4
6) 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?
A) Act on implied consent.
B) Get consent from the patient’s 15-year-old sister, who is at the scene.
C) Call the patient’s mother at work.
D) Allow the patient to consent as an emancipated minor.
Objective: 4.4
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7) 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?
A) In loco parentis
B) Informed consent
C) Res ipsa loquitur
D) Healthcare proxy
Objective: 4.5
8) You arrive on the scene of a 55-year-old male patient. The patient’s wife called 911 because he
is having chest pains. The patient is very angry with his wife for calling 911 because he states he
only has heartburn and adamantly refuses any treatment or transport. After signing the patient
refusal form, the patient collapses and goes into sudden cardiac arrest. The wife is crying
uncontrollably and begging you to do something. What should you do?
A) Respect his legal right to not have any treatment, regardless of how much the wife begs you
to help.
B) Explain to the wife that her husband signed a legal document refusing care, and if you
intervened to help him now, you would be breaking the law.
C) Provide emergency care for the patient only if his wife signs a document stating they will not
sue the EMS service.
D) Provide emergency care under implied consent.
Objective: 4.5
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9) The EMT’s obligation to provide care to a patient either as a formal or ethical responsibility is
known as which of the following?
A) Legal responsibility
B) Scope of practice
C) Duty to act
D) Standard of care
Objective: 4.5
10) In which of the following situations should an EMT withhold resuscitative measures from a
patient in cardiac arrest?
A) The patient’s caregiver presents a DNR order signed by the patient and his physician.
B) The EMT’s religious beliefs permit withholding resuscitation, and the caregiver presents
documentation of the patient’s wishes.
C) Family members request that nothing be done.
D) All of the above
Objective: 4.5
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11) Your patient is a 45-year-old man who is suffering from chest pain. Upon arrival, the patient
is pale, sweaty, and seems short of breath. The patient is angry with his daughter for calling 911.
He says that he had some spicy sausage for breakfast and has indigestion. Which of the following
is an appropriate means of getting the patient the care he needs?
A) Try to find out why the patient does not want to go to the hospital.
B) Call the patient’s neighbors and tell them that you have been called to the patient’s house but
he is now refusing care.
C) Inform the patient that if he does not agree to treatment, you will have to take him against his
will because he has a potentially life-threatening problem.
D) Tell the patient that his chest pain is most likely caused by his diet, have him take an antacid,
and go to bed.
Objective: 4.6
12) 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?
A) Stay with the patient until he loses consciousness.
B) Fully inform the patient about his situation and the implications of refusing care.
C) Inform the patient that he is having a “heart attack” and must be taken to the hospital for
evaluation.
D) Contact medical direction for orders to restrain the patient.
Objective: 4.6
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13) 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?
A) Have the patient’s family put their wishes in writing.
B) Withhold resuscitative measures.
C) Consult with the patient’s physician.
D) Begin resuscitative measures.
Objective: 4.7
14) Which of the following is NOT required to prove a claim of negligence against an EMT?
A) The EMT had a duty to act.
B) Proximate causation existed.
C) The EMT failed to act according to the standard of care.
D) The patient was in fear of bodily harm at the time of the incident.
Objective: 4.8
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15) Which of the following situations BEST illustrates the act of abandonment by the EMT?
A) The EMT resuscitates a patient who has a DNR order signed by his physician.
B) An EMT transports a patient to the emergency department, leaves the patient in the waiting
room, but does not advise the ED staff.
C) An EMT begins care of a patient, then turns the patient over to a paramedic.
D) An EMT who is off-duty sees a motor vehicle collision with probable injuries but does not
stop to help.
Objective: 4.8
16) Two EMTs respond to the scene of a syncopal episode. They evaluate a 50-year-old male
patient who passed out and cut his upper lip. The EMTs examine the patient and his vital signs
are normal. The EMTs talk the patient out of an expensive ambulance ride and suggest he will
save money by driving himself to the urgent care clinic for stitches for his lip rather than waiting
all night in the emergency department as a nonemergency patient. The patient signs the EMS
refusal form. The patient decides to see his own doctor the next morning but dies at his house
from sudden cardiac arrest an hour later. Which of the following statements is true?
A) The EMTs are not negligent because the patient signed the refusal form.
B) The EMTs are negligent because the patient died.
C) The EMTs are negligent because there was proximate causation.
D) The EMTs are not negligent because the EMTs have no control over the patient’s medical
condition.
Objective: 4.8
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