NREMT Practice Test Bank 2025 – Multiple
Choice Questions & Answers
Hypoglycemia and acute ischemic stroke can present similarly because:
• A:both oxygen and glucose are needed for brain function.
• B:the majority of stroke patients have a history of diabetes.
• C:the most common cause of a stroke is hypoglycemia.
• D:they are both caused by low levels of glucose in the blood. - ANSWER ✨✔---• A:both oxygen
and glucose are needed for brain function.
Reason: Although stroke and hypoglycemia are two distinctly different conditions, their signs and
symptoms are often similar. This is because the brain requires both oxygen and glucose to function
normally. An acute ischemic stroke is caused by a lack of oxygen to a part of the brain due to a blocked
cerebral artery, whereas hypoglycemia (low blood glucose level) deprives the entire brain of glucose. In
either case, the patient presents with signs of impaired brain function (ie, slurred speech, weakness,
altered mental status). Both conditions may lead to permanent brain damage or death if not treated
promptly.
When dealing with an emotionally disturbed patient, you should be MOST concerned with:
• A:gathering all of the patient's medications.
• B:safely transwerporting to the hospital.
,• C:whether the patient could harm you.
• D:obtaining a complete medical history. - ANSWER ✨✔---You selected C; This is correct!
Reason: When managing any patient with an emotional or psychiatric crisis, your primary concern is
your own safety. Safely transwerporting the patient to the hospital is your ultimate goal. If possible, you
should attempt to obtain a medical history and should take any of the patient's prescribed medications
to the hospital. However, this should not supercede your own safety or interfere with safely
transwerporting the patient.
You are at the scene where a man panicked while swimming in a small lake. Your initial attempt to
rescue him should include:
• A:rowing a small raft to the victim.
• B:reaching for the victim with a long stick.
• C:throwing a rope to the victim.
• D:swimming to the victim to rescue him. - ANSWER ✨✔---You selected B; This is correct!
Reason: General rules to follow when attempting to rescue a patient from the water include "reach,
throw, row, and then go." In this case, you should attempt to reach the victim by having him grab hold
of a large stick or similar object. If this is unsuccessful, throw the victim a rope or flotation device (if
available). If these are not available, row to the patient in a small raft (if available). Going into the water
to retrieve the victim is a last resort. The rescuer must be a strong swimmer because patients who are in
danger of drowning are in a state of blind panic and will make every attempt to keep themselves afloat,
even if it meanswer forcing the rescuer underwater.
How should you classify a patient's nature of illness if he or she has a low blood glucose level, bizarre
behavior, and shallow breathing?
• A:Behavioral emergency
• B:Altered mental status
• C:Respiratory emergency
• D:Cardiac compromise - ANSWER ✨✔---The correct answerwer is B;
Reason: The nature of illness (NOI) is the medical equivalent to mechanism of injury (MOI). Altered
mental status should be the suspected NOI in any patient with any fluctuation in level of consciousness,
,which can range from bizarre behavior to complete unresponsiveness. Causes of an altered mental
status include hypo- or hyperglycemia, head trauma, stroke, behavioral crises, drug overdose, and
shock, among others.
A young female is unresponsive after overdosing on an unknown type of drug. Her respirations are slow
and shallow and her pulse is slow and weak. Which of the following drugs is the LEAST likely cause of her
condition?
• A:Seconal
• B:Heroin
• C:Cocaine
• D:Valium - ANSWER ✨✔---The correct answerwer is C;
Reason: Of the drugs listed, cocaine would be the least likely cause of the patient's condition. Cocaine is
a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant; you would expect her to be hypertensive, tachycardic,
tachypneic, and perhaps even violent. Heroin, Valium, and Seconal are all CNS depressants and could
explain her condition. Heroin is an illegal narcotic (opiate), Valium is a benzodiazepine sedative-hypnotic
drug, and Seconal is a barbiturate. Narcotics, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates are all CNS depressants.
When taken in excess, they cause a decreased level of consciousness, respiratory depression,
bradycardia, and hypotension.
Activated charcoal is contraindicated for a patient who is:
• A:conscious and alert and has ingested a large amount of Motrin.
• B:emotionally upset and has ingested two bottles of aspirin.
• C:agitated and claims to have ingested a bottle of Tylenol.
• D:awake and alert and has swallowed a commercial drain cleaner. - ANSWER ✨✔---You selected
D; This is correct!
Reason:Activated charcoal adsorbs (sticks to) many ingested substances, preventing them from being
absorbed into the body by the stomach or intestines. In some cases, you may give activated charcoal to
patients who have ingested certain substances, if approved by medical control or local protocol.
Activated charcoal is contraindicated for patients who have ingested an acid or alkali (ie, drain cleaner)
or a petroleum product (ie, gasoline), who have a decreased level of consciousness and cannot protect
their own airway, or who are unable to swallow.
, The MOST obvious way to reduce heat loss from radiation and convection is to:
• A:move away from a cold object.
• B:increase metabolism by shivering.
• C:wear a thick wind-proof jacket.
• D:move to a warmer environment. - ANSWER ✨✔---you selected D; This is correct!
Reason:In a cold environment, the body has two ways of staying warm: generating heat (thermogenesis)
and reducing heat loss. Radiation is the transwerfer of heat by radiant energy. The body can lose heat by
radiation, such as when a person stands in a cold room. Convection occurs when heat is transwerferred
to circulating air, as when cool air moves across the body's surface. A person standing in windy cold
weather, wearing lightweight clothing, is losing heat to the environment mostly by convection. The
quickest and most obvious way to decrease heat loss from radiation and convection is to move out of
the cold environment and seek shelter from wind. Shivering increases the body's metabolism and is a
mechanism for generating heat, not reducing heat loss. Layers of clothing trap air and provide excellent
insulation; thus, layered clothing decreases heat loss better than a single, thick jacket. Conduction is the
direct transwerfer of heat from a part of the body to a colder object by direct contact, as when a warm
hand touches cold metal or ice. The most obvious way to decrease heat loss by conduction is to remove
your hand from the cold object.
A near-drowning is MOST accurately defined as:
• A:complications within 24 hours following submersion in water.
• B:immediate death due to prolonged submersion in water.
• C:survival for at least 24 hours following submersion in water.
• D:death greater than 24 hours following submersion in water. - ANSWER ✨✔---You selected C;
This is correct!
Reason:Collectively, drowning and near-drowning are referred to as submersion injuries. Drowning is
defined as death after submersion in a liquid medium, usually water. In a drowning, death is either
immediate or occurs within 24 hours following submersion. Near-drowning is defined as survival, at
least temporarily (24 hours), after submersion. It should be noted, however, that complications such as
pneumonia and pulmonary edema can cause death greater than 24 hours following submersion. For this
reason, all patients with a submersion injury should be transwerported to the hospital, even if they
appear fine at the scene.
Choice Questions & Answers
Hypoglycemia and acute ischemic stroke can present similarly because:
• A:both oxygen and glucose are needed for brain function.
• B:the majority of stroke patients have a history of diabetes.
• C:the most common cause of a stroke is hypoglycemia.
• D:they are both caused by low levels of glucose in the blood. - ANSWER ✨✔---• A:both oxygen
and glucose are needed for brain function.
Reason: Although stroke and hypoglycemia are two distinctly different conditions, their signs and
symptoms are often similar. This is because the brain requires both oxygen and glucose to function
normally. An acute ischemic stroke is caused by a lack of oxygen to a part of the brain due to a blocked
cerebral artery, whereas hypoglycemia (low blood glucose level) deprives the entire brain of glucose. In
either case, the patient presents with signs of impaired brain function (ie, slurred speech, weakness,
altered mental status). Both conditions may lead to permanent brain damage or death if not treated
promptly.
When dealing with an emotionally disturbed patient, you should be MOST concerned with:
• A:gathering all of the patient's medications.
• B:safely transwerporting to the hospital.
,• C:whether the patient could harm you.
• D:obtaining a complete medical history. - ANSWER ✨✔---You selected C; This is correct!
Reason: When managing any patient with an emotional or psychiatric crisis, your primary concern is
your own safety. Safely transwerporting the patient to the hospital is your ultimate goal. If possible, you
should attempt to obtain a medical history and should take any of the patient's prescribed medications
to the hospital. However, this should not supercede your own safety or interfere with safely
transwerporting the patient.
You are at the scene where a man panicked while swimming in a small lake. Your initial attempt to
rescue him should include:
• A:rowing a small raft to the victim.
• B:reaching for the victim with a long stick.
• C:throwing a rope to the victim.
• D:swimming to the victim to rescue him. - ANSWER ✨✔---You selected B; This is correct!
Reason: General rules to follow when attempting to rescue a patient from the water include "reach,
throw, row, and then go." In this case, you should attempt to reach the victim by having him grab hold
of a large stick or similar object. If this is unsuccessful, throw the victim a rope or flotation device (if
available). If these are not available, row to the patient in a small raft (if available). Going into the water
to retrieve the victim is a last resort. The rescuer must be a strong swimmer because patients who are in
danger of drowning are in a state of blind panic and will make every attempt to keep themselves afloat,
even if it meanswer forcing the rescuer underwater.
How should you classify a patient's nature of illness if he or she has a low blood glucose level, bizarre
behavior, and shallow breathing?
• A:Behavioral emergency
• B:Altered mental status
• C:Respiratory emergency
• D:Cardiac compromise - ANSWER ✨✔---The correct answerwer is B;
Reason: The nature of illness (NOI) is the medical equivalent to mechanism of injury (MOI). Altered
mental status should be the suspected NOI in any patient with any fluctuation in level of consciousness,
,which can range from bizarre behavior to complete unresponsiveness. Causes of an altered mental
status include hypo- or hyperglycemia, head trauma, stroke, behavioral crises, drug overdose, and
shock, among others.
A young female is unresponsive after overdosing on an unknown type of drug. Her respirations are slow
and shallow and her pulse is slow and weak. Which of the following drugs is the LEAST likely cause of her
condition?
• A:Seconal
• B:Heroin
• C:Cocaine
• D:Valium - ANSWER ✨✔---The correct answerwer is C;
Reason: Of the drugs listed, cocaine would be the least likely cause of the patient's condition. Cocaine is
a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant; you would expect her to be hypertensive, tachycardic,
tachypneic, and perhaps even violent. Heroin, Valium, and Seconal are all CNS depressants and could
explain her condition. Heroin is an illegal narcotic (opiate), Valium is a benzodiazepine sedative-hypnotic
drug, and Seconal is a barbiturate. Narcotics, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates are all CNS depressants.
When taken in excess, they cause a decreased level of consciousness, respiratory depression,
bradycardia, and hypotension.
Activated charcoal is contraindicated for a patient who is:
• A:conscious and alert and has ingested a large amount of Motrin.
• B:emotionally upset and has ingested two bottles of aspirin.
• C:agitated and claims to have ingested a bottle of Tylenol.
• D:awake and alert and has swallowed a commercial drain cleaner. - ANSWER ✨✔---You selected
D; This is correct!
Reason:Activated charcoal adsorbs (sticks to) many ingested substances, preventing them from being
absorbed into the body by the stomach or intestines. In some cases, you may give activated charcoal to
patients who have ingested certain substances, if approved by medical control or local protocol.
Activated charcoal is contraindicated for patients who have ingested an acid or alkali (ie, drain cleaner)
or a petroleum product (ie, gasoline), who have a decreased level of consciousness and cannot protect
their own airway, or who are unable to swallow.
, The MOST obvious way to reduce heat loss from radiation and convection is to:
• A:move away from a cold object.
• B:increase metabolism by shivering.
• C:wear a thick wind-proof jacket.
• D:move to a warmer environment. - ANSWER ✨✔---you selected D; This is correct!
Reason:In a cold environment, the body has two ways of staying warm: generating heat (thermogenesis)
and reducing heat loss. Radiation is the transwerfer of heat by radiant energy. The body can lose heat by
radiation, such as when a person stands in a cold room. Convection occurs when heat is transwerferred
to circulating air, as when cool air moves across the body's surface. A person standing in windy cold
weather, wearing lightweight clothing, is losing heat to the environment mostly by convection. The
quickest and most obvious way to decrease heat loss from radiation and convection is to move out of
the cold environment and seek shelter from wind. Shivering increases the body's metabolism and is a
mechanism for generating heat, not reducing heat loss. Layers of clothing trap air and provide excellent
insulation; thus, layered clothing decreases heat loss better than a single, thick jacket. Conduction is the
direct transwerfer of heat from a part of the body to a colder object by direct contact, as when a warm
hand touches cold metal or ice. The most obvious way to decrease heat loss by conduction is to remove
your hand from the cold object.
A near-drowning is MOST accurately defined as:
• A:complications within 24 hours following submersion in water.
• B:immediate death due to prolonged submersion in water.
• C:survival for at least 24 hours following submersion in water.
• D:death greater than 24 hours following submersion in water. - ANSWER ✨✔---You selected C;
This is correct!
Reason:Collectively, drowning and near-drowning are referred to as submersion injuries. Drowning is
defined as death after submersion in a liquid medium, usually water. In a drowning, death is either
immediate or occurs within 24 hours following submersion. Near-drowning is defined as survival, at
least temporarily (24 hours), after submersion. It should be noted, however, that complications such as
pneumonia and pulmonary edema can cause death greater than 24 hours following submersion. For this
reason, all patients with a submersion injury should be transwerported to the hospital, even if they
appear fine at the scene.
