Vocabulary

Question 1

Abandonment

Answer 1

Termination of the paramedic-patient relationship without assurance that an equal or greater level of care will continue.

Question 2

Abstract

Answer 2

A written summary of the key points, especially of a scientific paper; a report presented before publication of the entire paper.

Question 3

Accelerometers

Answer 3

Sensors in a vehicle that can measure change in total velocity, forces applied to the vehicle, direction forces were applied, whether the vehicle rolled over, whether air bags were deployed, and the vehicle’s final resting position.

Question 4

Accreditation

Answer 4

A system ensuring that education programs for paramedics and other EMS personnel levels meet minimal guidelines for faculty, facilities, equipment, medical oversight, clinical affiliations, and financial stability.

Question 5

Actual damages

Answer 5

Compensable physical, psychological, or financial harm.

Question 6

Ad hoc database

Answer 6

Database created each time a patient is encountered to include information about that patient such as vital signs, video, electronic health record, and voice-to-text medical findings that can be stored and then accessed as needed by rescuers, helicopter crew, and hospital physicians.

Question 7

Addendum

Answer 7

Addition or supplement to the original report.

Question 8

Administrative law

Answer 8

Law that is enacted by governmental agencies at either the federal or state level. Also called regulatory law.

Question 9

Advance directive

Answer 9

A document created to ensure that certain treatment choices are honor when a patient is unconscious or otherwise unable to express his choice of treatment.

Question 10

Advanced automatic crash notification (AACN)

Answer 10

Data collection and transmission system that can automatically contact a national call center or local public safety answering point and transmit detailed crash data, such as the type of vehicle, speed and direction of impact, and probable severity of injury to occupants. The AACN call center can simultaneously dispatch a variety of responders, including rescue/extrication crews, fire service, and medical helicopter transport, and advise the most appropriate hospital or trauma center to prepare for arrival of patients.

Question 11

Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT)

Answer 11

The level of EMS practitioner who performs the responsibilities of an EMT with the addition of limited advanced emergency medical care.

Question 12

Advanced life support (ALS)

Answer 12

Advanced lifesaving procedures such as intravenous therapy, drug therapy, intubation, and defibrillation.

Question 13

Against medical advice (AMA)

Answer 13

Your patient refuses care even though you feel he needs it.

Question 14

Allied health professions

Answer 14

Ancillary health care professions apart from physicians and nurses, such as paramedics, respiratory therapists, and physical therapists.

Question 15

Analysis of variance (ANOVA)

Answer 15

Parametric statistic used to ascertain the extent to which significant group differences can be inferred to the population.

Question 16

Anchor time

Answer 16

Set of hours when a night-shift worker can reliably expect to rest without interruption.

Question 17

Assault

Answer 17

An act that unlawfully places a person in apprehension of immediate bodily harm without his consent.

Question 18

Automatic crash notification (ACN)

Answer 18

Data collection and transmission system that can automatically contact a national call center or local public safety answering point and transmit limited specific crash data, such as that a crash has taken place and where it is located.

Question 19

Automatic location information (ALI)

Answer 19

In computers at enhanced 911 communication centers, the ability to display the location of a caller’s phone.

Question 20

Automatic number identification (ANI)

Answer 20

In computers at enhanced 911 communication centers, the ability to display a caller’s telephone number.

Question 21

Autonomy

Answer 21

A competent adult patient’s right to determine what happens to his own body.

Question 22

Bandwidth

Answer 22

(1) the width of a range of frequencies, measured in hertz; (2) a rate of data transmission, measured in bits per second (bps)

Question 23

Basic life support (BLS)

Answer 23

Basic lifesaving procedures such as artificial ventilation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Question 24

Battery

Answer 24

The unlawful touching of another individual without his consent.

Question 25

Bench research

Answer 25

Research done in a controlled laboratory setting using nonhuman subjects.

Question 26

Beneficence

Answer 26

The principle of doing good for the patient.

Question 27

Bias

Answer 27

Potential unintended or unavoidable effect on study outcomes.

Question 28

Breach of duty

Answer 28

An action or inaction that violates the standard of care expected from a paramedic.

Question 29

Bubble sheet

Answer 29

Scannable run sheet on which you fill in boxes or “bubbles” to record assessment and care information.

Question 30

Burnout

Answer 30

When coping mechanisms no longer buffer job stressors, which can compromise personal health and well-being.

Question 31

Bystander

Answer 31

A family member, friend, or stranger to the patient who is present at the patient’s medical emergency.

Question 32

Call routing

Answer 32

The process of transferring an emergency call to the nearest 911 center; occasionally technical problems cause such a call to be routed out of the call area.

Question 33

Case report

Answer 33

A structured study of a single unit, subject, event, or patient.

Question 34

Case series

Answer 34

Observational study that tracks patients with a known exposure or examines their medical records for exposure and outcome.

Question 35

Cells

Answer 35

Regions into which a cell phone service is divided.