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EMT TRAUMA FISDAP EXAMINATION 2026/2027
COMPLETE (150) CURRENT TESTING QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS WITH DETAILED RATIONALES.
EMT
Prepare effectively for the EMT Trauma FISDAP Exam with this focused study resource.
It supports review of trauma assessment, bleeding and shock, head and spinal
injuries, chest and abdominal trauma, musculoskeletal injuries, and emergency
treatment principles. Use the material to reinforce your knowledge, review key topics,
and identify areas that may require additional study. This resource is suited for EMT
students, emergency medical trainees, and candidates preparing for FISDAP trauma
examinations.
MULTIPLE CHOICE.
Section 1: Trauma Assessment & Primary Survey (Questions 1–25)
You are responding to a motor vehicle collision. Your first priority upon arrival
at the scene should be to:
A) Begin assessing the patient's airway
B) Ensure scene safety and standard precautions
C) Rapidly extricate the patient from the vehicle
D) Apply cervical spine immobilization
Answer: B) Ensure scene safety and standard precautions
Rationale: Scene safety is the first priority in any emergency response.
You cannot help a patient if you become injured yourself. After ensuring
the scene is safe, standard precautions should be taken before patient
contact.
The "X" in the XABCDE primary survey stands for:
A) X-ray
B) eXsanguination
C) eXternal bleeding
D) eXposure
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Answer: B) eXsanguination
Rationale: The XABCDE primary survey begins with "X" for
eXsanguination—life-threatening hemorrhage that must be controlled
immediately before addressing the airway. The full sequence is: X
(hemorrhage control), A (airway), B (breathing), C (circulation), D
(disability), E (exposure/environment).
A 28-year-old male has been shot in the right thigh. Bright red blood is
spurting from the wound. Your immediate action should be to:
A) Apply a tourniquet
B) Apply direct pressure with a sterile dressing
C) Elevate the extremity
D) Apply a pressure dressing
Answer: A) Apply a tourniquet
Rationale: Bright red, spurting blood indicates arterial hemorrhage, which
is life-threatening. A tourniquet should be applied immediately for
extremity hemorrhage that is not controlled by direct pressure.
During the primary survey, you find that your patient has an open airway but is
not breathing adequately. Your next action should be to:
A) Insert a nasopharyngeal airway
B) Provide positive pressure ventilation with a BVM
C) Perform a jaw-thrust maneuver
D) Suction the airway
Answer: B) Provide positive pressure ventilation with a BVM
Rationale: Once the airway is open and clear, inadequate breathing
requires immediate positive pressure ventilation with a bag-valve-mask
(BVM) device to support oxygenation and ventilation.
A 45-year-old male was involved in a fall from a ladder. He is unresponsive.
Your initial assessment reveals a patent airway but gurgling sounds. Your
priority action is to:
A) Insert an oropharyngeal airway
B) Suction the airway
C) Perform a jaw-thrust maneuver
D) Administer high-flow oxygen
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Answer: B) Suction the airway
Rationale: Gurgling sounds indicate fluid or secretions in the airway.
Suctioning is the priority to clear the airway and prevent aspiration.
The most preventable cause of trauma death in adults is:
A) Traumatic brain injury
B) Uncontrolled hemorrhage
C) Airway obstruction
D) Tension pneumothorax
Answer: B) Uncontrolled hemorrhage
Rationale: Uncontrolled hemorrhage is the most preventable cause of
trauma death in adults. Rapid identification and control of external
bleeding can save lives.
A patient involved in a motor vehicle collision has a Glasgow Coma Scale
(GCS) score of 12. This indicates:
A) Severe head injury
B) Moderate head injury
C) Mild head injury
D) No head injury
Answer: B) Moderate head injury
Rationale: GCS scores: 13-15 = mild, 9-12 = moderate, 3-8 = severe. A
score of 12 indicates a moderate head injury requiring close monitoring.
You are assessing a patient who was struck by a car. You note paradoxical
movement of the chest wall during respiration. This is most consistent with:
A) Tension pneumothorax
B) Flail chest
C) Simple pneumothorax
D) Cardiac tamponade
Answer: B) Flail chest
Rationale: Paradoxical chest wall movement (inward during inspiration,
outward during expiration) is the hallmark of flail chest, which occurs
when multiple rib fractures create a free-floating segment of the chest
wall.
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During the primary survey, you identify a patient with a suspected spinal
injury. The appropriate technique for opening the airway is:
A) Head-tilt, chin-lift
B) Jaw-thrust maneuver
C) Neck extension
D) Oropharyngeal airway insertion only
Answer: B) Jaw-thrust maneuver
Rationale: The jaw-thrust maneuver is the preferred technique for opening
the airway in a patient with a suspected spinal injury, as it minimizes
cervical spine movement.
A patient with a suspected pelvic fracture is restless, pale, and diaphoretic.
These findings suggest:
A) Anxiety
B) Hypovolemic shock
C) Spinal shock
D) Neurogenic shock
Answer: B) Hypovolemic shock
Rationale: Pelvic fractures can cause significant internal hemorrhage.
Restlessness, pallor, and diaphoresis are early signs of hypovolemic
shock from blood loss.
The primary purpose of the secondary assessment in trauma is to:
A) Identify life-threatening conditions
B) Perform a head-to-toe examination
C) Obtain a complete medical history
D) Determine the mechanism of injury
Answer: B) Perform a head-to-toe examination
Rationale: The secondary assessment follows the primary survey and
consists of a systematic head-to-toe examination to identify injuries that
were not detected during the primary survey. It is performed after life-
threatening conditions have been addressed.
A patient involved in a motorcycle collision was not wearing a helmet. He is
conscious but confused. His GCS is 14. Which of the following is the priority?
EMT TRAUMA FISDAP EXAMINATION 2026/2027
COMPLETE (150) CURRENT TESTING QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS WITH DETAILED RATIONALES.
EMT
Prepare effectively for the EMT Trauma FISDAP Exam with this focused study resource.
It supports review of trauma assessment, bleeding and shock, head and spinal
injuries, chest and abdominal trauma, musculoskeletal injuries, and emergency
treatment principles. Use the material to reinforce your knowledge, review key topics,
and identify areas that may require additional study. This resource is suited for EMT
students, emergency medical trainees, and candidates preparing for FISDAP trauma
examinations.
MULTIPLE CHOICE.
Section 1: Trauma Assessment & Primary Survey (Questions 1–25)
You are responding to a motor vehicle collision. Your first priority upon arrival
at the scene should be to:
A) Begin assessing the patient's airway
B) Ensure scene safety and standard precautions
C) Rapidly extricate the patient from the vehicle
D) Apply cervical spine immobilization
Answer: B) Ensure scene safety and standard precautions
Rationale: Scene safety is the first priority in any emergency response.
You cannot help a patient if you become injured yourself. After ensuring
the scene is safe, standard precautions should be taken before patient
contact.
The "X" in the XABCDE primary survey stands for:
A) X-ray
B) eXsanguination
C) eXternal bleeding
D) eXposure
, Page 2 of 46
Answer: B) eXsanguination
Rationale: The XABCDE primary survey begins with "X" for
eXsanguination—life-threatening hemorrhage that must be controlled
immediately before addressing the airway. The full sequence is: X
(hemorrhage control), A (airway), B (breathing), C (circulation), D
(disability), E (exposure/environment).
A 28-year-old male has been shot in the right thigh. Bright red blood is
spurting from the wound. Your immediate action should be to:
A) Apply a tourniquet
B) Apply direct pressure with a sterile dressing
C) Elevate the extremity
D) Apply a pressure dressing
Answer: A) Apply a tourniquet
Rationale: Bright red, spurting blood indicates arterial hemorrhage, which
is life-threatening. A tourniquet should be applied immediately for
extremity hemorrhage that is not controlled by direct pressure.
During the primary survey, you find that your patient has an open airway but is
not breathing adequately. Your next action should be to:
A) Insert a nasopharyngeal airway
B) Provide positive pressure ventilation with a BVM
C) Perform a jaw-thrust maneuver
D) Suction the airway
Answer: B) Provide positive pressure ventilation with a BVM
Rationale: Once the airway is open and clear, inadequate breathing
requires immediate positive pressure ventilation with a bag-valve-mask
(BVM) device to support oxygenation and ventilation.
A 45-year-old male was involved in a fall from a ladder. He is unresponsive.
Your initial assessment reveals a patent airway but gurgling sounds. Your
priority action is to:
A) Insert an oropharyngeal airway
B) Suction the airway
C) Perform a jaw-thrust maneuver
D) Administer high-flow oxygen
, Page 3 of 46
Answer: B) Suction the airway
Rationale: Gurgling sounds indicate fluid or secretions in the airway.
Suctioning is the priority to clear the airway and prevent aspiration.
The most preventable cause of trauma death in adults is:
A) Traumatic brain injury
B) Uncontrolled hemorrhage
C) Airway obstruction
D) Tension pneumothorax
Answer: B) Uncontrolled hemorrhage
Rationale: Uncontrolled hemorrhage is the most preventable cause of
trauma death in adults. Rapid identification and control of external
bleeding can save lives.
A patient involved in a motor vehicle collision has a Glasgow Coma Scale
(GCS) score of 12. This indicates:
A) Severe head injury
B) Moderate head injury
C) Mild head injury
D) No head injury
Answer: B) Moderate head injury
Rationale: GCS scores: 13-15 = mild, 9-12 = moderate, 3-8 = severe. A
score of 12 indicates a moderate head injury requiring close monitoring.
You are assessing a patient who was struck by a car. You note paradoxical
movement of the chest wall during respiration. This is most consistent with:
A) Tension pneumothorax
B) Flail chest
C) Simple pneumothorax
D) Cardiac tamponade
Answer: B) Flail chest
Rationale: Paradoxical chest wall movement (inward during inspiration,
outward during expiration) is the hallmark of flail chest, which occurs
when multiple rib fractures create a free-floating segment of the chest
wall.
, Page 4 of 46
During the primary survey, you identify a patient with a suspected spinal
injury. The appropriate technique for opening the airway is:
A) Head-tilt, chin-lift
B) Jaw-thrust maneuver
C) Neck extension
D) Oropharyngeal airway insertion only
Answer: B) Jaw-thrust maneuver
Rationale: The jaw-thrust maneuver is the preferred technique for opening
the airway in a patient with a suspected spinal injury, as it minimizes
cervical spine movement.
A patient with a suspected pelvic fracture is restless, pale, and diaphoretic.
These findings suggest:
A) Anxiety
B) Hypovolemic shock
C) Spinal shock
D) Neurogenic shock
Answer: B) Hypovolemic shock
Rationale: Pelvic fractures can cause significant internal hemorrhage.
Restlessness, pallor, and diaphoresis are early signs of hypovolemic
shock from blood loss.
The primary purpose of the secondary assessment in trauma is to:
A) Identify life-threatening conditions
B) Perform a head-to-toe examination
C) Obtain a complete medical history
D) Determine the mechanism of injury
Answer: B) Perform a head-to-toe examination
Rationale: The secondary assessment follows the primary survey and
consists of a systematic head-to-toe examination to identify injuries that
were not detected during the primary survey. It is performed after life-
threatening conditions have been addressed.
A patient involved in a motorcycle collision was not wearing a helmet. He is
conscious but confused. His GCS is 14. Which of the following is the priority?
