WEST COAST EMT ENVIRONMENTAL
EMERGENCIES EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH COMPLETE ANSWERS
Advanced EMT (AEMT) - Answer-An individual who has training in specific aspects of
advanced life support, such as intravenous therapy, and the administration of certain
emergency medications.
Advanced Life Support (ALS) - Answer-Advanced lifesaving procedures, some of which
are now being provided by the EMT.
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) - Answer-Comprehensive legislation that is
designed to protect people with disabilities against discrimination.
Automated External Defibrillator (AED) - Answer-A device that detects treatable life-
threatening cardiac dysrhythmias (ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia) and
delivers the appropriate electrical shock to the patient.
Certification - Answer-A process in which a person, an institution, or a program is
evaluated and recognized as meeting certain predetermined standards to provide safe
and ethical care.
Community Paramedicine - Answer-A health care model in which experienced
paramedics receive advanced training to equip them to provide additional services in
the prehospital environment, such as health evaluations, monitoring of chronic illnesses
or conditions, and patient advocacy.
Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) - Answer-A system of internal and external
reviews and audits of all aspects of an EMS system.
Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) - Answer-A system that assists dispatchers in
selecting appropriate units to respond to a particular call for assistance and provides
callers with vital instructions until the arrival of EMS crews.
Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) - Answer-The first trained professional such as a
police officer, firefighter, lifeguard, or other rescuer, to arrive at the scene of an
emergency to provide initial medical assistance.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) - Answer-A multidisciplinary system that represents
the combined efforts of several professionals and agencies to provide prehospital
emergency care to the sick and injured.
,Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) - Answer-An individual who has training in basic
life support, including automated external defibrillation, use of a definitive airway
adjunct, and assisting patients with certain medications.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) - Answer-
Intravenous (IV) Therapy - Answer-The delivery of medication directly into a vein.
Licensure - Answer-The process whereby a competent authority, usually the state,
allows people to perform a regulated act.
Medical Control - Answer-Physician instruction given directly by radio or cell phone
(online/direct) or indirectly by protocol/guidelines (off-line/indirect), as authorized by the
medical director of the service program.
Medical Director - Answer-The physician who authorizes or delegates to the EMT the
authority to provide medical care in the field.
Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) - Answer-A method of delivering health care which
involves providing health care within the community rather than at a physician's office or
hospital.
National EMS Scope of Practice Model - Answer-A document created by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that outlines the skills performed by
various EMS providers.
Paramedic - Answer-An individual who has extensive training in advanced life support,
including endotracheal intubation, emergency pharmacology, cardiac monitoring, and
other advanced assessment and treatment skills.
Primary Prevention - Answer-Efforts to prevent an injury or illness from ever occurring.
Primary Service Area (PSA) - Answer-The designated area in which the EMS service is
responsible for the provision of prehospital emergency care and transportation to the
hospital.
Public Health - Answer-Focused on examining the health needs of entire populations
with the goal of preventing health problems.
Public Safety Access Point - Answer-A call center, staffed by trained personnel who are
responsible for managing requests for police, fire, and ambulance services.
Quality Control - Answer-The responsibility of the medical director to ensure the
appropriate medical care standards are met by EMTs on each call.
,Secondary Prevention - Answer-Efforts to limit the effects of an injury or illness that you
cannot completely prevent.
Acute Stress Reactions - Answer-Reaction to stress that occurs during a stressful
situation.
Airborne Trasmission - Answer-The spread of an organism via droplets or dust.
Bloodborne Pathogens - Answer-Pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human
blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited
to, hepatitis B virus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Answer-The primary federal
agency that conducts and supports public health activities in the United States. The
CDC is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Communicable Disease - Answer-A disease that can be spread from one person or
species to another.
Concealment - Answer-The use of objects to limit a person's visibility of you.
Contamination - Answer-The presence of infectious organisms on or in objects such as
dressings, water, food, needles, wounds, or a patient's body.
Cover - Answer-The tactical use of an impenetrable barrier for protection.
Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) - Answer-A process that confronts the
responses to critical incidents and defuses them, directing the emergency services
personnel toward physical and emotional equilibrium.
Cumulative Stress Reactions - Answer-Prolonged or excessive stress.
Delayed Stress Reactions - Answer-Reaction to stress that occurs after a stressful
situation.
Designated Officer - Answer-The individual in the department who is charged with the
responsibility of managing exposures and infection control issues.
Direct Contact - Answer-Exposure of transmission of a communicable disease from one
person to another by physical contact.
Exposure - Answer-A situation in which a person has had contact with blood, body
fluids, tissues, or airborne particles in a manner that suggests disease transmission may
occur.
, Foodborne Transmission - Answer-The contamination of food or water with an organism
that can cause disease.
General Adaptation Syndrome - Answer-The body's response to stress that begins with
an alarm response, followed by a stage of reaction and resistance, and then recovery
or, if the stress is prolonged, exhaustion.
Hepatitis - Answer-Inflammation of the liver, usually caused by a viral infection, that
causes fever, loss of appetite, jaundice, fatigue, and altered liver function.
Host - Answer-The organism or individual that is attacked by the infecting agent.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) - Answer-Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS) is caused by HIV, which damages the cells in the body's immune system so that
the body is unable to fight infection or certain cancers.
Immune - Answer-The body's ability to protect itself from acquiring a disease.
Indirect Contact - Answer-Exposure or transmission of disease from one person to
another by contact with a contaminated object.
Infection - Answer-The abnormal invasion of a host or host tissues by organisms such
as bacteria, viruses, or parasites, with or without signs or symptoms of disease.
Infection Control - Answer-Procedures to reduce transmission of infection among
patients and health care personnel.
Infectious Disease - Answer-A medical condition caused by the growth and spread of
small, harmful organisms within the body.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - Answer-The federal regulatory
compliance agency that develops, publishes, and enforces guidelines concerning safety
in the workplace.
Pathogen - Answer-A microorganism that is capable of causing disease in a susceptible
host.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - Answer-Protective equipment that blocks
exposure to a pathogen or a hazardous material.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - Answer-A delayed stress reaction to a prior
incident. Often the result of one or more unresolved issues concerning the incident, and
may relate to an incident that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm.
Transmission - Answer-The way in which an infectious disease is spread: contact,
airborne, by vehicles, or by vectors.