EMT Ch 4 Communications & Documentation

Ethnocentrism is defined as:

Considering your own cultural values as more important when interacting with people of a different culture

You are dispatched to the residence of an Asian family for a child with a high fever. When you assess the child, you note that he has numerous red marks on his back. The child’s parents explain that these marks represent coining—a traditional Asian healing practice in which hot coins are rubbed on the back. You should:

Document this on your patient care report and advise the emergency department staff of what the child’s parents told you

You are assessing a 75-year-old woman with mild shortness of breath. As you are asking her questions regarding her chief complaint and medical history, you progressively move closer and closer to her. In doing this, it is important to remember that:

As you physically get closer to the patient, a greater and greater sense of trust must be established

A 60-year-old man complains of chest pain. He is conscious and alert and denies shortness of breath. Which of the following questions would be the MOST appropriate to ask him?

"Do you have any heart problems or take any medications?"

You are interviewing a 52-year-old man who complains of chest discomfort. The patient is a retired paramedic and is very anxious because he thinks he is having a heart attack. Which of the following statements would be appropriate to say?

"It is possible that you are experiencing a heart attack. I am going to give you four baby aspirin to chew and swallow."

Calming and reassuring an anxious patient can be facilitated by:

Maintaining eye contact with the patient whenever possible

During your assessment of a 20-year-old man with a severe headache and nausea, you ask him when his headache began, but he does not answer your question immediately. You should:

Allow him time to think about the question and respond to it

In what manner should you act and speak with a patient?

Calm and confident

When communicating with an older patient, it is important to remember that:

Most older people think clearly and are capable of answering questions

A 4-year-old boy had an apparent seizure. He is conscious and calm and is sitting on his mother’s lap. His father is sitting in a nearby chair. The child’s mother suddenly begins crying uncontrollably, which causes the child to start crying. You should:

Consider asking the father to hold the child so you can assess him while your partner tries to calm the mother

Which of the following statements regarding communication with a child is MOST correct?

Standing over a child often increases his or her level of anxiety

Communicating with hearing-impaired patients can be facilitated by doing all of the following, EXCEPT:

Elevating the tone of your voice and exaggerating word pronunciation

When communicating with a visually impaired patient, you should:

Determine the degree of the patient’s impairment

You and your partner are dispatched to a residence for an "ill person." When you arrive, you find that the patient, a 44-year-old man, does not speak English. There are no relatives or bystanders present who can act as an interpreter. You should:

Use short, simple questions and point to specific parts of your body to try to determine the source of the patient’s complaint

As you are wheeling your patient through the emergency department doors, you receive another call for a major motor vehicle crash. You should:

Respond only after giving a verbal patient report to a nurse or physician

The official transfer of patient care does not occur until the EMT:

Gives an oral report to the emergency room physician or nurse

When you begin an oral report, you should state the patient’s age, sex, and:

Chief complaint

Typical components of an oral patient report include all of the following, EXCEPT:

The set of baseline vital signs taken at the scene

The patient care report (PCR) ensures:

Continuity of care

Your EMS system uses a computerized PCR in which you fill in the information electronically and then send it to the emergency department via a secure Internet server. The PCR has a comprehensive series of drop-down boxes, which are used to identify your assessment findings and specify the treatment that you provided; it also has a section for your narrative. When completing your PCR after a call, you should:

Complete a thorough and accurate narrative because drop-down boxes cannot provide all of the information that needs to be documented

Which of the following statements is NOT appropriate to document in the narrative section of a PCR?

"General impression revealed that the patient was intoxicated."

All information recorded on the PCR must be:

Considered confidential

After delivering your patient to the hospital, you sit down to complete the PCR. When documenting the patient’s last blood pressure reading, you inadvertently write 120/60 instead of 130/70. To correct this mistake, you should:

Draw a single horizontal line through the error, initial it, and write the correct data next to it

A patient’s refusal for EMS treatment and/or transport must be:

An informed refusal

Which of the following statements regarding a patient refusal is MOST correct?

A mentally competent adult has the legal right to refuse EMS care and transport

Despite numerous, sincere efforts to convince a 40-year-old man to consent to EMS treatment and transport, he refuses. After explaining the potential consequences of his refusal and determining that he has decision-making capacity, you ask him to sign an EMS refusal form, but he refuses to do that as well. You should:

Ask a family member, law enforcement officer, or bystander to sign the form verifying that the patient refused to sign

Which of the following incidents does NOT require a report to be filed with local authorities?

Cardiac arrest

Any radio hardware containing a transmitter and receiver that is located in a fixed location is called a:

Base station

Which of the following statements regarding a "dedicated line" is MOST correct?

It is a constantly open line of communication that cannot be accessed by outside users

While at the scene of a motor vehicle crash, you determine that there are two critically injured patients and that another ambulance is needed. You attempt to contact the dispatcher with your portable radio but are unsuccessful. You should:

Use the mobile radio in the ambulance to contact dispatch

Which of the following has the weakest transmission signal and, as a result, is LEAST likely to be heard by the party being called?

Hand-held portable radio

A ___________ receives messages and signals on one frequency and then automatically retransmits them on a second frequency.

Repeater

What type of communications equipment functions as a radio receiver and searches across several frequencies?

Scanner

Two-way communication that requires the EMT to "push to talk" and "release to listen" describes what mode of communication?

Simplex

Which of the following is NOT a function of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)?

Maintaining communications equipment on the ambulance

During the alert and dispatch phase of EMS communications, the dispatcher’s responsibilities include all of the following, EXCEPT:

Discouraging the caller from providing care until the EMS unit arrives

After being dispatched on an emergency call, you should expect the dispatcher to provide you with all of the following information, EXCEPT:

The general geographic location of the incident

Immediately after being dispatched to a residence for an elderly patient with diabetic complications, you should:

Confirm with dispatch that you received the call information

When relaying patient information via radio, communications should be:

Brief and easily understood

You are transporting a 54-year-old male in cardiac arrest. An EMR is driving the ambulance as you and your partner attempt to resuscitate the patient. What is the MOST logical way of notifying the hospital?

Have the driver contact dispatch and relay the patient information to the hospital

General guidelines for effective radio communications include all of the following, EXCEPT:

Using 10 codes to ensure radio traffic confidentiality

When communicating information over the radio, you should:

Use the words "affirmative" and "negative" instead of "yes" or "no."

When providing a patient report via radio, you should protect the patient’s privacy by:

Not disclosing his or her name

Information included in a radio report to the receiving hospital should include all of the following, EXCEPT:

A preliminary diagnosis of the patient’s problem

You could be sued for ___________ if your radio report to the hospital describes the patient in a manner that injures his or her reputation.

Slander

When obtaining patient care orders from a physician via a two-way radio, it is MOST important to remember that:

His or her instructions are based on the information you provide

After receiving online orders from medical control to perform a patient care intervention, you should:

Repeat the order to medical control word for word

Medical control gives you an order that seems inappropriate for the patient’s condition. After confirming that you heard the physician correctly, you should:

Advise the physician that the order is unclear and ask for clarification

Which of the following statements regarding standing orders is MOST correct?

Standing orders should be followed when physician contact is not possible

You and your partner are attempting to resuscitate a middle-aged female in cardiac arrest. Because of the remote location you are in, you are unable to contact medical control. What should you do?

Follow locally established protocols or standing orders