Chapter 4 quiz Flashcards
Which one of the following statements shows an accurate understanding of the legal aspects of the prehospital care report (PCR)?
A) “A PCR can be used in a lawsuit only if that lawsuit is filed within six months.”
B) “A copy of the PCR should be forwarded to the police any time law enforcement is involved in the call.”
C) “The PCR may be subpoenaed even if the case centers around alleged negligence that occurred in the emergency department.”
D) “The PCR is considered a legal document only when it describes a crime or act of violence.”
C) “The PCR may be subpoenaed even if the case centers around alleged negligence that occurred in the emergency department.”
After a patient, who is short of breath, signs a refusal of service, which one of the following statements would be appropriate prior to leaving the residence?
A) “Try taking an aspirin and get a good night’s rest; you will probably feel better.”
B) “If you change your mind and want to be transported to the hospital, call 911.”
C) “We will leave this oxygen for you; call us when you feel better.”
D) “Call our dispatch in the morning to let us know how you made out.”
B) “If you change your mind and want to be transported to the hospital, call 911.
Last week, on a computer generated report, you accidentally documented that a patient suffered from hypertension when, in fact, he did not. Unfortunately, the report has been locked by the computer and cannot be changed; however, it can be printed. Your first action would be to:
A) retype the entire report and include the change.
B) notify the medical director so that she can fix the error.
C) print the report and draw a line through the error.
D) contact the hospital and have them change it in the patient’s medical record.
C) print the report and draw a line through the error.
A pertinent negative would be illustrated by:
A) “nausea without vomiting.”
B) “hypertension and taking medication.”
C) “dizziness for three days without notifying the doctor.”
D) “short of breath with history of lung problems.”
A) “nausea without vomiting.”
Consider the following narrative from a patient care report: “pt. restrained passenger involved in 2 car MVC; c/o left lower leg pain rated 2/10; LOC A/O to person, place, time, and event; BBS clear; abd. Soft with tenderness LLQ; hx of NIDDM with am glucose level of 133 mg/dL.” Which of the following is true?
A) The patient’s abdomen appears uninjured.
B) The patient is being tested for diabetes.
C) The patient is confused following the accident.
D) The patient’s lungs sounds are clear and equal.
D) The patient’s lungs sounds are clear and equal.
A patient with asthma is using his inhaler tid and prn. You would recognize that:
A) the patient is suffering asthmatic attacks three times a week.
B) the patient is only prescribed his inhaler three times a day.
C) the patient uses his inhaler only when the symptoms are bad.
D) the patient uses an inhaler at least three times a day.
D) the patient uses an inhaler at least three times a day.
When writing a prehospital care report, you accidentally document that a laceration was on the left side of a patient’s face when it was actually on the right side of the face. How would you correct this mistake?
A) Carefully use White-Out to cover the term “left” but nothing else in the narrative.
B) Color over the term “left” with black ink and write the word “right” next to it.
C) Draw a single line through the term “left” and write the word “right” next to it.
D) Start the entire prehospital care report over from the beginning.
C) Draw a single line through the term “left” and write the word “right” next to it.
Your partner states that he is the “world’s worst speller” and has great difficulty using medical terms. Which one of the following statements is appropriate?
A) “Do not document information that requires medical terms you are unsure of.”
B) “Consider abbreviating medical terms that you are unsure how to spell.”
C) “Ask the emergency physician or nurse how to spell the words of which you are unsure.”
D) “Use plain English if you are unsure of how to apply or spell a medical term.”
D) “Use plain English if you are unsure of how to apply or spell a medical term.”
A nauseated patient with fever and abdominal pain states that he has not vomited. Which one of the following describes how that fact should be documented? A) As a subjective finding B) This fact would not be documented. C) As a pertinent negative D) As a treatment finding
C) As a pertinent negative
Consider the following narrative from a patient care report: “pt. transported 3 days ago for STEMI; pt. currently denies CP and SOB; PMH of HTN and CAD; pt. currently in NAD.” Which of the following is true?
A) The patient has heart problems.
B) The patient suffers from hypotension.
C) The patient is short of breath.
D) The patient is in moderate distress.
A) The patient has heart problems.
You document the following on the prehospital care report: “c/o H/A with associated n/v; pt. denies existing CNS problems or history of the same; states positive history of AAA and ETOH abuse.” Regarding this narrative, which of the following is true?
A) The patient has a history of drug problems.
B) The patient has a headache.
C) The patient is nauseated but not vomiting.
D) The patient has a history of migraines.
B) The patient has a headache.
Just before the end of their shift, EMTs transported a young male who bystanders state "passed out" and then had a seizure. Now, an hour later, the patient has been stabilized and the physician asks the nurse if she knows what the seizure looked like. To easily answer this question, she would: A) contact and question the bystanders. B) check the prehospital care report. C) question the patient. D) call the EMTs at home.
B) check the prehospital care report.
You have been called to the house of a patient with altered mental status. You encounter a 41-year-old male who exhibits slurred speech, an unsteady gait, and has an odor of alcohol on his breath. His wife states that he is an alcoholic and needs help to get better. When documenting this, which one of the following would be best?
A) Patient with history of alcoholism
B) Family member states patient ETOH
C) Per wife—patient with alcoholic history
D) Alcoholic history disclosed to EMS
C) Per wife—patient with alcoholic history
The medical director states that it seems there has been an increase in the number of patients suffering from shortness of breath with a history of congestive heart failure (CHF). He adds that he is thinking about modifying the protocols, but first must know the number of patients seen with this condition over the past year. To best determine the number of patients treated for this condition, you would:
A) question the emergency department physicians and nurses.
B) have all employees complete a survey regarding the increase.
C) have employees complete a form any time they treat a patient with CHF.
D) review the previous prehospital care reports.
D) review the previous prehospital care reports.
A patient states that he has suffered from chronic neck pain ever since an accident. Further, he states that he is filing a lawsuit against the EMTs since they failed to put a cervical collar on him at the time and in his eyes, this is the reason he has daily neck and back pain. The EMT can remember the incident well and remembers putting a collar on the patient. As such, his best defense would be:
A) presentation of the standard of care showing that a cervical collar is indicated.
B) written documentation of collar placement on the PCR.
C) testimony from your supervisor stating that you always place a cervical collar.
D) presentation of the emergency department chart in court.
B) written documentation of collar placement on the PCR.
You are involved in a lawsuit over a stabbing that occurred six months ago. Since you work in a busy EMS system and some time has passed, your recollection of the incident in spotty. In this situation, your best means of remembering what occurred would be to:
A) review the prehospital care report.
B) confer with your partner at the time.
C) meet and discuss the incident with other witnesses.
D) obtain and review the police report.
A) review the prehospital care report.
Your protocol reads: “O2 via NC prn if asymptomatic for CP / SOB and SpO2 >97%.” To follow this order, you should do which one of the following?
A) Consider oxygen for a patient complaining of a runny nose and SpO2 at 98%.
B) Administer oxygen through a nasal cannula at three liters per minute if the pulse oximeter reads 96%.
C) Call medical command to administer oxygen if the pulse oximeter reading is above 97%.
D) Administer oxygen via face mask if the patient denies a complaint and has a pulse oximeter reading of 98%.
A) Consider oxygen for a patient complaining of a runny nose and SpO2 at 98%
Immediately after giving a prehospital care report to the nurse in the emergency department, dispatch informs you that there are no more ambulances available and you must immediately leave the hospital to cover another portion of the county. Since your service uses a computerized documentation system and there is no time to complete your report, your best course of action should be to:
A) complete an abbreviated transfer-of-care form.
B) repeat your assessment findings and treatment to the nurse.
C) leave and return to complete the report as soon as possible.
D) give a verbal report to the ED physician.
A) complete an abbreviated transfer-of-care form.
A patient care report reads: “PMH includes ESRF and (+) DNR; (+) ASA pta of EMS.” Regarding this description, which one of the following is true?
A) The patient has kidney disease.
B) EMS administered aspirin to the patient.
C) The patient is alert and oriented.
D) The patient desires resuscitation.
A) The patient has kidney disease.
Which one of the following would be the best reason for a policy that requires all crew members to synchronize their watches with dispatch at the beginning of each shift?
A) Allows the supervisor to make sure that all EMTs have a watch
B) Provides the best opportunity for the EMT to end the shift on time
C) Ensures that all EMS staff is on time and ready for the shift
D) Promotes accurate system-wide time record keeping throughout the shift
D) Promotes accurate system-wide time record keeping throughout the shift
Two days after a call, you realize that you forgot to document that you checked a patient’s blood glucose prior to him refusing transport and signing the refusal form. At that time, you did contact medical direction and provide this information to the doctor, prior to him authorizing the patient to refuse. Which one of the following is now your best course of action?
A) Add an addendum to the report with the correct information, current date, and the EMT’s initials.
B) Report the error to the State Department of the Emergency Medical Services.
C) Disregard the mistake since the patient was not transported to the hospital and medical direction was aware of the blood glucose reading.
D) Complete a new refusal and return to the patient’s residence to have him re-sign the refusal form.
A) Add an addendum to the report with the correct information, current date, and the EMT’s initials.
A patient care report reads: "c/o chest pain with associated DOE; PMH of IDDM." Regarding this description, which one of the following is true? A) The patient took nitroglycerin. B) The patient is a diabetic. C) The patient takes no medications. D) The patient is breathing easily.
B) The patient is a diabetic.
A patient care report reads: “c/o fall with (R) hip pain; FROM to (R) low. ext.” Based on this, you should recognize which one of the following?
A) Right hip appears broken.
B) Right leg is not broken, but cannot be moved freely.
C) Right leg can be moved normally.
D) Right hip is dislocated, but not fractured.
C) Right leg can be moved normally.
You are reviewing a prehospital care report (PCR) and note the following entry: “Pt. took PCN b.i.d. PO for 5 days.” You would interpret this as the patient took:
A) penicillin injections for five days.
B) a penicillin pill every other day for five days.
C) a total of 10 pills of penicillin.
D) antibiotic injections two times a day for five days.
C) a total of 10 pills of penicillin.
