Fisdap Operations
A 72-year-old woman fell and has a hip injury. She is on the second floor of her home. Which of the
following devices should you use to
move her down the flight of stairs
A) Stair chair
B) Long backboard
C) Wheeled stretcher
D) Scoop stretcher - D) Scoop stretcher
Of the options listed, the scoop stretcher, also called an orthopaedic stretcher or split litter, would be the
most appropriate to use. The scoop stretcher is
contoured and allows for the placement of straps to secure the patient; it also allows you to place
padding around and under the patient. The long backboard,
unlike the scoop stretcher, is flat; therefore, the patient can slide from side to side or top to bottom,
even when straps are placed. The wheeled ambulance
stretcher is top heavy and is not safe for patient movement down a flight of stairs or across rough
terrain. Because the patient has a hip injury, the stair chair would not be appropriate to use.
A 52-year-old woman crashed her minivan into a tree. She is pinned at the legs by the steering wheel
and is semiconscious. After gaining
access to the patient, you should:
A) perform a primary assessment and provide any life-saving care before extrication.
B) immediately apply high-flow oxygen to the patient and allow extrication to begin.
C) rapidly assess her from head to toe, obtain vital signs, and apply a cervical collar.
D) have the fire department disentangle the patient and quickly remove her from the car. - A)
perform a primary assessment and provide any life-saving care before extrication.
Unless there is an immediate threat of fire, explosion, or other danger, you should perform a primary
assessment and begin any life-saving care as soon as
,you have gained access to the patient. If you wait to do this until after the patient has been disentangled,
it may be too late; the patient may already be dead.
After you have assessed the patient and treated any immediate threats to life, allow extrication to
commence. Once the patient has been freed from the
vehicle, continue any lifesaving care and perform a rapid head-to -toe assessment to identify and treat
other life- threatening injuries. Another EMT can
obtain vital signs as you rapidly assess the patient. Prepare for immediate transport after the rapid head-
to-toe assessment has been performed and spinal
precautions have been taken (if indicated).
When arriving at the scene of a motor vehicle crash at night, you determine that the safest place to park
the ambulance is in a direction that
faces oncoming traffic. What should you do?
A) Position road flares around the front of the ambulance.
B) Turn all emergency lighting off to avoid blinding the traffic.
C) Turn the high-beam headlights on to alert oncoming traffic.
D) Turn your headlights off, but keep the emergency lights on. - D) Turn your headlights off, but
keep the emergency lights on.
Emergency operations on the highway at night can be especially dangerous for responders; it is
important to position emergency vehicles correctly, while at
the same time ensuring visibility for oncoming traffic without blinding them. First of all, road flares near
an automobile crash are dangerous because leaking
fluids , such as gasoline, may not be immediately apparent; safety triangles are safer. If your emergency
vehicle is facing oncoming traffic, you should keep
your emergency lights on, but turn your headlights off. Bright lights, such as high-beam headlights, can
effectively blind and disorient an oncoming driver,
and could cause them to crash into the scene.
A patient is found unresponsive in his small bathroom. He is not breathing and is sitting in the corner.
Two EMTs are able to reach him, but they are unable to stand side by side. He appears to weigh about
150 pounds and there is no evidence that he has been injured. Which of the following would be the
quickest and MOST practical way of moving him out of the bathroom?
,A) Extremity lift
B) Long backboard
C) Direct ground lift
D) Stair chair device - A) Extremity lift
When moving any patient, you should do so in the safest, most efficient way possible. If a patient is in a
narrow space (ie, small bathroom, narrow hallway)
and you and your partner cannot stand side by side to perform a direct ground lift, the extremity lift
would be the most practical way of moving him or her.
One EMT would lift by the arms and the other by the legs; the patient could then be moved to a larger
working area. Two EMTs should be able to safely lift a
150-pound patient. A long backboard would clearly not work in the case of a narrow or small space
because there would be little room to the patient's left or
right to slide the board underneath him or her. A stair chair would also likely not be possible, or practical,
because of such a confined space.
When calling in your radio report to the receiving hospital, you should:
A) include the patient's name.
B) be brief, concise, and factual.
C) give your report only to a physician.
D) break your report into 60-second increments. - B) be brief, concise, and factual.
A radio report should be brief, concise, and factual. It should include the patient's age and sex, his or her
chief complaint, associated assessment findings,
vital signs, treatment that you provided, and the patient's response to your treatment. Avoid speculative
statements regarding the patient's condition; report
only what you know to be fact. Longer radio reports should be broken into 30-second increments; after
30 seconds, pause and ensure the listener heard
your previous traffic. The patient's name is not vital to your report; thus, there is no need to disclose it.
Unless you are requesting medical direction, it is
acceptable, and routine practice, to give your report to a registered nurse.
, At the scene of a mass-casualty incident, you notice a bystander who is emotionally upset. An
appropriate action to take would be to:
A) tell the bystander to leave the scene at once.
B) have the bystander assist you with patient care.
C) notify the police and have the bystander removed.
D) assign the bystander a simple, non-patient-care task. - D) assign the bystander a simple, non-
patient-care task.
One of the most effective ways to reduce stress in a bystander at the scene of a mass-casualty incident is
to assign the bystander a task that is not related to
patient care. This may involve assisting other bystanders who are having difficulties as well or providing
water to the rescuers. An obviously distressed
bystander should not simply be sent away from the scene, but should be looked at as a patient as well.
Clearly, if the bystander becomes aggressive or violent,
law enforcement personnel should get involved.
Upon arriving at a mass-casualty incident, the EMT is assigned to the treatment area. Upon completion
of duties in the treatment area, the
EMT should:
A) notify the incident commander and return to service.
B) report to the treatment officer for further instructions.
C) report to the transportation area to assist with transport.
D) report to the triage section to check for remaining patients. - B) report to the treatment officer
for further instructions.
Organized operations at the scene of a mass-casualty incident are crucial in order to achieve the best
possible outcome and maximize the number of lives
saved. When the EMT is given an assignment, he or she should complete the assignment and then return
to the individual who gave the assignment for
further instructions. Self-assigning at the scene (freelancing) is dangerous and can compromise the
effectiveness of the overall operation.
