You are treating a patient with suspected heat cramps. Your…

You are treating a patient with suspected heat cramps. Your medical director has issued standing orders for such treatment given the high number of heat-related emergencies to which your service routinely responds in the summer months. Regarding these standing orders, which of these instructions would seem most appropriate?

The high pressure alarm is sounding on a home ventilator. As…

The high pressure alarm is sounding on a home ventilator. As your partner prepares the bag-valve mask, you quickly determine that no problem exists with the machine itself. As positive pressure ventilation is initiated, you note high resistance to the ventilations and have a difficult time adequately squeezing the bag. Your next action would be to:

You are by the side of a young male patient who hit his head…

You are by the side of a young male patient who hit his head after diving from a hillside into a shallow lake. The patient is responsive to noxious stimuli applied to his trapezeus muscle and has a large hematoma to his forehead with abrasions all over his face. A paramedic also asks you to apply painful stimuli to his arms and legs, one at a time. You recognize that the paramedic wants you to assess for which type of injury or condition?

The grandfather of an alert and oriented 2-year-old girl fou…

The grandfather of an alert and oriented 2-year-old girl found her on the floor playing with pills from his open bottle of Digoxin (a heart medication that slows the heart rate). He cannot remember how many pills were in the bottle, but he thinks that some are missing and suspects that his granddaughter may have eaten them thinking that they were candy. Assessment reveals the patient’s airway to be open and breathing adequate. Her pulse is appropriate for a child her age and her skin warm and dry. Her grandfather is not sure of how long ago she may have taken the pills. Given the assessment findings, the EMT would assume:

You are at a scene where a patient was calm and compliant un…

You are at a scene where a patient was calm and compliant until a few seconds ago. Now he is brandishing a knife and threatening to kill you and your partner if you do not immediately leave. The man is intoxicated, and police have been notified but have not yet arrived. What is your best course of action?