Crime Scene Awareness
While cleaning your unit after a run, a family member approaches your ambulance and accuses your crew of taking their family member's wallet. What response would demonstrate appropriate diplomacy for an EMS worker?
Ask the family member for clarification of their suspicion and tell them you will begin looking for it.
You have an incident where you have very limited access to the patient trapped in a vehicle. Which assessment should occur regardless of how trapped the patient is?
Primary Assessment
You are on the scene of a hazardous materials incident and are providing care to an EMS provider exposed to a hazardous substance. Name 3 useful details for continued care of the patient.
Identify substance
Identify type of PPE patient was wearing
Likelihood for secondary exposures
The best local resource when first addressing the issue of an unknown chemical at a hazardous materials incident?
Local fire department
For the first couple of days following a mass shooting at a mall you experience nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and increased startle reflex. What do these symptoms reflect?
These are normal reactions to an abnormal event and should subside over several days after the event.
This is where one provider interacts with the patient while the other provider stands at a 90-degree angle and observes the scene.
What is contact and cover
You have extricated a 70-year-old patient from a vehicle after it went off the road at a high rate of speed and hit a tree. The patient has an altered mental status and is unable to provide a medical history. You are concerned that a cardiac problem may have precipitated the incident, but what else must you rule out?
Other medical problems
On a Hazmat scene one of the technicians is briefing everyone and mentions the toxidrome associated with a particular chemical. Your junior partner asks you to define the term "toxidrome". What do you tell him?
Collection of signs and symptoms that indicated a poisoning.
Which source would provide you the LEAST amount of useful information at the scene of an overturned tanker truck that is leaking some type of clear fluid?
Shipping papers in the cab of the truck since they are initially inaccessible in the hot zone.
Elderly patient collapsed after complaining of a severe headache and is now unresponsive. What is the cause?
Hemorrhagic stroke
Police officer has been assaulted and is lying on the ground with an obvious head injury. Bad guy has fled the scene. How can you best keep the scene safe?
Confirm more police are enroute and assign a crew member to monitor the surroundings.
You are approaching a hazardous materials scene and observe victims lying motionless on the ground. What is the appropriate action to take to rescue them?
Wait in a safe area until the Hazmat team has secured the scene.
EMS is typically responsible for which part of a hazardous materials incident?
Use the placard system to identify the chemical.
You prepare to decontaminate a patient that is covered with a dry sodium powder. After brushing the powder off, what should you do next?
Use vegetable oil to remove the sodium after brushing the dry powder off as much as possible.
Patient complains of a headache and has refused to take prescribed afib meds for the past week. They are unable to speak clearly, disoriented to person, place and time. What is the cause?
Embolic stroke
Unresponsive person on the floor-appears lifeless with multiple stab wounds. Large amount of blood by knife on floor. Scene is safe. List 4 steps you should do next.
Contact law enforcement
Initiate patient contact and medical care
Observe and document the location of any items
Move only those items necessary for patient care
At a MVC involving extensive front end damage-the airbag did not deploy and they are unable to access the battery compartment for the car. Which two actions should be followed to extricate the driver from the vehicle?
Work as much as possible from the passenger side of the vehicle.
Maintain a safe distance of at least 10 inches from the driver-side airbag.
You are called to a medical emergency at a local machine shop. Near the entrance of the building you find two victims who appear to have collapsed. What is your next action at this point?
Withdraw from the scene once identifying a potentially hazardous scene.
Which chemical found in a confined space is most likely t cause an explosion if found in high levels of concentration?
Methane
Radiation injury
The best way to preserve criminal evidence that may be on clothing removed from a patient.
Inside a paper bag is the best method to preserve evidence.
What specific personal protective equipment should EMS wear while inside a vehicle where the Jaws of Life are being used to extricate the patient?
Full turnout gear, including a helmet
You are called to a potential hazardous materials scene where the victim is found lying next to a container that is leaking. The placard label on the container is difficult to read at 100 feet. What is the BEST action to take in this situation?
Identify the material label with binoculars from a greater distance.
What does extremely low vapor density mean when addressing a hazardous material.
Low vapor density will cause the gas to rise. Those in high places are at the greatest risk.
At an MCI, life safety is your first priority. What is the next priority and what two items are include in that priority?
Incident stabilization: Establishing command and notifying authorities