Chapter 15: Secondary Assessment

Question 1

You are called for a patient who is complaining of being weak and dizzy. He reports that he does not have enough money to pay for his medications so he has not gotten them refilled. Your service has an automatic blood pressure machine and you use it to measure the patient’s blood pressure while you count his respirations. The blood pressure machine reports a blood pressure of 280/140. What should you do next?

Answer 1

Take a manual blood pressure

Question 2

The patient was a driver in a lateral impact motor vehicle collision. During the assessment of his chest, the EMT notes a segment of the chest wall moving in the opposite direction from the rest of the chest. Which of the following best describes this finding?

Answer 2

Paradoxial Motion

Question 3

When assessing a patient who has been stabbed, which of the following information should the EMT gain first?

Answer 3

Size and type of knife

Question 4

For which of the following patients is a focused physical examination appropriate?

Answer 4

A 25-year-old female with a history of asthma and who is complaining of difficulty breathing

Question 5

When checking breath sounds in a trauma patient, what should the EMT assess for first?

Answer 5

Presence and equality

Question 6

What does distention refer to when describing your patient’s abdomen?

Answer 6

Larger than normal

Question 7

What is a surgical opening in the wall of the abdomen with a plastic bag in place to collect digestive waste?

Answer 7

Colostomy

Question 8

If a patient complains of abdominal pain localized to a specific area of the abdomen, which of the following techniques should be used to assess the abdomen?

Answer 8

Palpate the painful area last

Question 9

The term priapism means ________ and may be found in injuries of the ________.

Answer 9

a persistent penile erection; spine

Question 10

Immediately following a rapid physical exam on an unresponsive medical patient, which of the following should you do next?

Answer 10

Obtain baseline vital signs.

Question 11

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:

Answer 11

a bent steering wheel or starred windshield.

Question 12

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:

Answer 12

subcutaneous emphysema.

Question 13

What term describes a permanent surgical opening in the neck through which a patient breathes?

Answer 13

stoma

Question 14

Which of the following is not a purpose of a rapid trauma assessment?

Answer 14

To focus care on specific injuries

Question 15

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:

Answer 15

bowel sounds

Question 16

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?

Answer 16

Perform a rapid trauma assessment

Question 17

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.

Answer 17

ears

Question 18

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?

Answer 18

Obtain baseline vital signs and past medical history.

Question 19

When a patient describes how he feels, he is telling you which of the following?

Answer 19

his symptoms

Question 20

You are assessing a 76-year-old male patient who has been involved in a fall from a standing position. You have completed the scene size-up and primary assessment. What should you do next?

Answer 20

Secondary assessment