EMT National Registry Exam Questions/Answers
Graded A+ 2025/2026
After your paramedic partner has intubated an adult cardiac arrest patient, you are
providing ventilations as a firefighter performs chest compressions. When ventilating the
patient, you should? - Deliver each breathe over 1 second at a rate of 8 to 10 breathes
per minute
When an advanced airway is in place, there is no pause in chest compressions to
deliver breaths.
An airway that is not completely obstructed - encourage to cough, heimlich is only
performed on complete obstructions
Infant respiratory rate - 25-50
Bradycardia - The condition of having a slow heartbeat, defined as under 60 beats per
minute for an adult.
Hypertension - progressively increasing systolic blood pressure, leading to widening
pulse pressure
Mediastinum - Region in mammals including the thoracic area just not the lungs, so the
heart the trachea, the thymus gland are all included in it
What are the two methods for opening the airway of an unconscious patient?
When would you use one over the other? - Jaw-thrust and head-tilt chin-lift
spine injury
What is the main complication of suctioning the airway for more than 10 seconds? -
Could lead to hypoxia
What flow rate for a nasal cannula and when should it be used - Flow rate: 1-6 lpm
When it's used: Nasal cannulas are used to deliver oxygen when a low flow, low or
medium concentration is required, and the patient is in a stable state.
When should you use a NRM and at what flow rate? - Use when patent needs oxygen
but can breath on their own and is getting sufficient tidal volume and O2 percent, flow
rate of 10-15 lpm
When should you use a bag-valve mask and at what flow rate? - Use when patient is
unconscious and not breathing adequately or isn't getting enough O2 or has stopped
breathing, use 10-15 lpm, if patient is breathing less than 12 times a min or more than
24 use BVM and check to see if it's working by looking at rise and fall of chest
How would you ventilate a patient who has a Stoma? - If there is a tracheostomy tube in
place put the BVM on that and ventilate (after taking mask off) if no tube put a special
,mask over the stoma and if you don't have a special tracheostomy stoma mask use a
child or infant BVM mask
cover nose and mouth
What is the medicine inside an MDI and how does it work? - A metered-dose inhaler
(MDI) is a device that delivers a specific amount of medication to the lungs, in the form
of a short burst of aerosolized medicine that is usually self-administered by the patient
via inhalation.
Medications are things like Bronchodilators like albuterol
What are the indications of a MDI? - patients with known COPD or asthma with acute
exacerbations.
patients without known respiratory disease who exhibit expiratory wheezing.
must be prescribed
What are the contraindications of a MDI? - Airflow obstruction due to foreign body
Airflow obstruction and an MI
Not used as the first drug to help with congestive heart failure
Hypersensitivity, tachycardia, MI.
What can albuterol treat? - Albuterol can quickly relieve shortness of breath, coughing,
wheezing, and chest tightness.
relaxes muscles in the airways and increases air flow to the lungs.
Administering MDI - Shake for 30 sec, administer while patient inhales and encourage
to hold breath
Dyspnea - Difficult or labored breathing
Retractions - Sign of increased muscle use for breathing, sings of someone having
difficulty breathing
Belly breathing - Seeing the chest rise when a child is breathing because their ribcage
muscles are not developed enough to get enough air, ok if the tidal volume and
breathing rate are normal
Auscultations - Listening to the heart or lungs with stethoscope
What does pulse oximetry measure? - Measures the O2 saturation of someones blood
What are three conditions that can give a false pulse oximetry reading? - Dark nail
polish
Patient moving too much
Dust and dirt
Hand tremors
, The 3 conditions: peripheral vascular disease, vasoconstrictor medications, severe
hypotension and hypothermia.
peripheral vascular disease - narrowing of the blood vessels that carry blood to the
extremities
hypotension - abnormally low blood pressure, caused by sudden loss of blood (shock),
severe infection, heart attack, or severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)
hypothermia - Being severely cold
Decreasing mental status, Decreasing motor and sensory function and Changing vital
signs.
Early or superficial cold injury usually involves the tips of ears, the nose the tips of toes
and fingers, and the chin
Late or deep cold injury involves both the skin and tissue beneath it
The pulse, breathing, and blood pressure are difficult to assess in a hypothermic
patient.
A pt with a core body temp of 95 or less is considered hypothermic
How does Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) affect a patient's respiratory
effort and breathing? - Pursed lips, barrel chest, tripoding, loss of elasticity of the lungs,
dry cough, dyspnea
Chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) describes a group of lung conditions
(diseases) that make it difficult to empty the air out of the lungs. This difficulty can lead
to shortness of breath (also called breathlessness) or the feeling of being tired
What treatment would you administer to a patient with difficulty breathing due to COPD?
- Position of comfort and administer O2 with NRM or PPV w/ BVM
MDI
How does Emphysema affect a patient's respiratory effort and breathing? - • Dyspnea
(difficulty breathing)
• Tachypnea (accelerated breathing)
• Expiatory Wheezes
• Retractions
• Pursed lip
• Dry cough
• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Barrel chest
• Hypoxic drive- based on 02 levels in lungs, low 02 levels tell you to breath
Emphysema is a chronic respiratory disease where there is over-inflation of the air sacs
(alveoli) in the lungs, causing a decrease in lung function, and often, breathlessness.
What treatment would you administer to a patient with difficulty breathing due to
Emphysema? - ♣ Position of comfort
Graded A+ 2025/2026
After your paramedic partner has intubated an adult cardiac arrest patient, you are
providing ventilations as a firefighter performs chest compressions. When ventilating the
patient, you should? - Deliver each breathe over 1 second at a rate of 8 to 10 breathes
per minute
When an advanced airway is in place, there is no pause in chest compressions to
deliver breaths.
An airway that is not completely obstructed - encourage to cough, heimlich is only
performed on complete obstructions
Infant respiratory rate - 25-50
Bradycardia - The condition of having a slow heartbeat, defined as under 60 beats per
minute for an adult.
Hypertension - progressively increasing systolic blood pressure, leading to widening
pulse pressure
Mediastinum - Region in mammals including the thoracic area just not the lungs, so the
heart the trachea, the thymus gland are all included in it
What are the two methods for opening the airway of an unconscious patient?
When would you use one over the other? - Jaw-thrust and head-tilt chin-lift
spine injury
What is the main complication of suctioning the airway for more than 10 seconds? -
Could lead to hypoxia
What flow rate for a nasal cannula and when should it be used - Flow rate: 1-6 lpm
When it's used: Nasal cannulas are used to deliver oxygen when a low flow, low or
medium concentration is required, and the patient is in a stable state.
When should you use a NRM and at what flow rate? - Use when patent needs oxygen
but can breath on their own and is getting sufficient tidal volume and O2 percent, flow
rate of 10-15 lpm
When should you use a bag-valve mask and at what flow rate? - Use when patient is
unconscious and not breathing adequately or isn't getting enough O2 or has stopped
breathing, use 10-15 lpm, if patient is breathing less than 12 times a min or more than
24 use BVM and check to see if it's working by looking at rise and fall of chest
How would you ventilate a patient who has a Stoma? - If there is a tracheostomy tube in
place put the BVM on that and ventilate (after taking mask off) if no tube put a special
,mask over the stoma and if you don't have a special tracheostomy stoma mask use a
child or infant BVM mask
cover nose and mouth
What is the medicine inside an MDI and how does it work? - A metered-dose inhaler
(MDI) is a device that delivers a specific amount of medication to the lungs, in the form
of a short burst of aerosolized medicine that is usually self-administered by the patient
via inhalation.
Medications are things like Bronchodilators like albuterol
What are the indications of a MDI? - patients with known COPD or asthma with acute
exacerbations.
patients without known respiratory disease who exhibit expiratory wheezing.
must be prescribed
What are the contraindications of a MDI? - Airflow obstruction due to foreign body
Airflow obstruction and an MI
Not used as the first drug to help with congestive heart failure
Hypersensitivity, tachycardia, MI.
What can albuterol treat? - Albuterol can quickly relieve shortness of breath, coughing,
wheezing, and chest tightness.
relaxes muscles in the airways and increases air flow to the lungs.
Administering MDI - Shake for 30 sec, administer while patient inhales and encourage
to hold breath
Dyspnea - Difficult or labored breathing
Retractions - Sign of increased muscle use for breathing, sings of someone having
difficulty breathing
Belly breathing - Seeing the chest rise when a child is breathing because their ribcage
muscles are not developed enough to get enough air, ok if the tidal volume and
breathing rate are normal
Auscultations - Listening to the heart or lungs with stethoscope
What does pulse oximetry measure? - Measures the O2 saturation of someones blood
What are three conditions that can give a false pulse oximetry reading? - Dark nail
polish
Patient moving too much
Dust and dirt
Hand tremors
, The 3 conditions: peripheral vascular disease, vasoconstrictor medications, severe
hypotension and hypothermia.
peripheral vascular disease - narrowing of the blood vessels that carry blood to the
extremities
hypotension - abnormally low blood pressure, caused by sudden loss of blood (shock),
severe infection, heart attack, or severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)
hypothermia - Being severely cold
Decreasing mental status, Decreasing motor and sensory function and Changing vital
signs.
Early or superficial cold injury usually involves the tips of ears, the nose the tips of toes
and fingers, and the chin
Late or deep cold injury involves both the skin and tissue beneath it
The pulse, breathing, and blood pressure are difficult to assess in a hypothermic
patient.
A pt with a core body temp of 95 or less is considered hypothermic
How does Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) affect a patient's respiratory
effort and breathing? - Pursed lips, barrel chest, tripoding, loss of elasticity of the lungs,
dry cough, dyspnea
Chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) describes a group of lung conditions
(diseases) that make it difficult to empty the air out of the lungs. This difficulty can lead
to shortness of breath (also called breathlessness) or the feeling of being tired
What treatment would you administer to a patient with difficulty breathing due to COPD?
- Position of comfort and administer O2 with NRM or PPV w/ BVM
MDI
How does Emphysema affect a patient's respiratory effort and breathing? - • Dyspnea
(difficulty breathing)
• Tachypnea (accelerated breathing)
• Expiatory Wheezes
• Retractions
• Pursed lip
• Dry cough
• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Barrel chest
• Hypoxic drive- based on 02 levels in lungs, low 02 levels tell you to breath
Emphysema is a chronic respiratory disease where there is over-inflation of the air sacs
(alveoli) in the lungs, causing a decrease in lung function, and often, breathlessness.
What treatment would you administer to a patient with difficulty breathing due to
Emphysema? - ♣ Position of comfort
