UCLA EMT - EMT OPERATIONS EXAM STUDY GUIDE
List some medical conditions or pathogens which would make the EMT don an N95
mask. - Answers :Airborne communicable disease droplets (coughing, sneezing,
spewing) or pathogens like tuberculosis, COVID, SARS, ebola, and meningitis
List some conditions which would make the EMT don a face shield. - Answers :When
you need to protect your eyes, nose, and mouth from foreign body fluids and any
suspected illnesses that could be transmitted through air particles (blood splatters, child
birth, HAZMAT patient, debris, etc)
Describe the proper handwashing techniques. - Answers :Wash hands for 20 seconds
with warm water and soap, paying attention to fingernails. Wash hands before eating,
before and after using the restroom, and between patients.
List the steps in preparing for your shift and describe your responsibilities as an EMT. -
Answers :Deliver excellent patient care while endangering self or partner (don't become
another patient). Good nutrition, exercise, relaxation, sleep, disease prevention, work-
life balance, have someone to talk to about work, don't put your own illness to the side
(get things checked out mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually). Be
professional (attire and when talking). Upon arrival to station, check out the ambulance
to clear it for service (gas, oil, battery, etc.) (medical supplies all in stock)
Describe the safe driving habits while responding in an ambulance with lights and
sirens. - Answers :Select the shortest least congested route, know alternative routes to
hospitals, avoid one-way streets (and going against the flow of traffic there), watch for
bystanders near the scene, park in a "cold zone" on scene, try to park in front of the
accident and turn headlights and front warning lights off but keep the side ones on, drive
within the speed limit, always drive defensively, maintain safe following distance ("4-
second rule"), assume other drivers will not hear the siren or see your emergency lights,
always exercise due regard, stop at intersections (fully at red lights before running it),
turn sirens off when there are cars in front of you at a red light, keep 500 ft from other
responding vehicles and use a different siren, pedestrians have right of way, ALWAYS
stop when the lights of a school bus are blinking as children may run out of nowhere,
always stop at train tracks (train always wins)
Explain the process of approaching a school bus in an ambulance with lights and sirens.
- Answers :Even emergency vehicles are not allowed to pass school buses that are
stopped with blinking lights or with the "stop arm" out. Vehicle should stop, turn off lights
and siren, and wait until the school bus lights are off and it is clear that the children are
secured.
Describe the type of patient who would benefit from helicopter transport. - Answers
:Patients with time dependent injuries and illnesses (stroke, heart attack, spinal cord
injury, scuba diving incidents, near drowning, skiing, wilderness accidents, trauma
, patients who have limbs that need reattachment [limbs are only viable for so long], burn
center, hyperbolic chamber) (DO NOT use for cardiac arrest because you cannot do
CPR in the helicopter), patients in critical condition, patients who had long extrication
times, patients in remote locations, when road traffic or environmental conditions cause
road ambulance time to hospital to be too long for patient's condition
List techniques to improve radio communication. - Answers :Organize what you're going
to say before you push the transmit button, have an accurate patient report, wait 2-3
seconds before talking, have a clear and calm voice, keep it brief and use "plain speak"
(no codes or slang), do not provide diagnosis, don't talk about private patient data (just
identify with age and sex), keep the mic an inch away from your face so that you drown
out other noises
List the components which are assessed during scene size up. - Answers :Start scene
size up when you get the dispatch call, determine whether it is safe to proceed, see if
additional resources are needed, PENMAN (P: personal, partner, and patient safety)
(E: environmental hazards)
(N: number of patients)
(N/M: nature of illness or mechanism of injury)
(A: additional resources if needed)
(N: need for spinal motion restriction [board or neck brace])
List the resources an EMT has to help identify an unknown hazardous material. -
Answers :Placards and labels tell you if there are hazardous materials around / what it
is / how dangerous it is, Emergency Response Guide (ERG) can be referred to to see
how to handle it, Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) can show what chemical
components there are and how to handle it, you can ask medical control what the
numbered hazardous material is and how to proceed, stay a very far safe distance from
the area until other resources can decontaminate and contain the hazards, be on the
lookout for sings of a possible hazardous material being present (dead animals,
discolored pavement, dead grass, visible vapors or puddles, labels, type of
building/container, etc), call for additional backup from fire department hazmat team and
wait to treat patients until after they have been decontaminated
Describe additional resources that may be required to assist the EMS provider. -
Answers :firefighters, utility workers, hazmat and hazardous materials workers, law
enforcement / police (PD), animal control, paramedics (ALS), medical control, air lift, etc
Discuss the importance of patient management at the scene of a crime and how the
EMT would go about moving items found at the crime scene. - Answers :be careful and
be respectful of the crime scene, ensure scene safety (no assailants, not fire hazard,
the ground isn't going to fall with you standing on it, etc), minimize disturbance to the
crime scene, put bloody clothing in paper bag so that it doesn't get moist, encourage
victims of sexual assault to not bathe or shower, avoid leaving lots of fingerprints and
footprints, document patient position, avoid moving anything unless necessary for
List some medical conditions or pathogens which would make the EMT don an N95
mask. - Answers :Airborne communicable disease droplets (coughing, sneezing,
spewing) or pathogens like tuberculosis, COVID, SARS, ebola, and meningitis
List some conditions which would make the EMT don a face shield. - Answers :When
you need to protect your eyes, nose, and mouth from foreign body fluids and any
suspected illnesses that could be transmitted through air particles (blood splatters, child
birth, HAZMAT patient, debris, etc)
Describe the proper handwashing techniques. - Answers :Wash hands for 20 seconds
with warm water and soap, paying attention to fingernails. Wash hands before eating,
before and after using the restroom, and between patients.
List the steps in preparing for your shift and describe your responsibilities as an EMT. -
Answers :Deliver excellent patient care while endangering self or partner (don't become
another patient). Good nutrition, exercise, relaxation, sleep, disease prevention, work-
life balance, have someone to talk to about work, don't put your own illness to the side
(get things checked out mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually). Be
professional (attire and when talking). Upon arrival to station, check out the ambulance
to clear it for service (gas, oil, battery, etc.) (medical supplies all in stock)
Describe the safe driving habits while responding in an ambulance with lights and
sirens. - Answers :Select the shortest least congested route, know alternative routes to
hospitals, avoid one-way streets (and going against the flow of traffic there), watch for
bystanders near the scene, park in a "cold zone" on scene, try to park in front of the
accident and turn headlights and front warning lights off but keep the side ones on, drive
within the speed limit, always drive defensively, maintain safe following distance ("4-
second rule"), assume other drivers will not hear the siren or see your emergency lights,
always exercise due regard, stop at intersections (fully at red lights before running it),
turn sirens off when there are cars in front of you at a red light, keep 500 ft from other
responding vehicles and use a different siren, pedestrians have right of way, ALWAYS
stop when the lights of a school bus are blinking as children may run out of nowhere,
always stop at train tracks (train always wins)
Explain the process of approaching a school bus in an ambulance with lights and sirens.
- Answers :Even emergency vehicles are not allowed to pass school buses that are
stopped with blinking lights or with the "stop arm" out. Vehicle should stop, turn off lights
and siren, and wait until the school bus lights are off and it is clear that the children are
secured.
Describe the type of patient who would benefit from helicopter transport. - Answers
:Patients with time dependent injuries and illnesses (stroke, heart attack, spinal cord
injury, scuba diving incidents, near drowning, skiing, wilderness accidents, trauma
, patients who have limbs that need reattachment [limbs are only viable for so long], burn
center, hyperbolic chamber) (DO NOT use for cardiac arrest because you cannot do
CPR in the helicopter), patients in critical condition, patients who had long extrication
times, patients in remote locations, when road traffic or environmental conditions cause
road ambulance time to hospital to be too long for patient's condition
List techniques to improve radio communication. - Answers :Organize what you're going
to say before you push the transmit button, have an accurate patient report, wait 2-3
seconds before talking, have a clear and calm voice, keep it brief and use "plain speak"
(no codes or slang), do not provide diagnosis, don't talk about private patient data (just
identify with age and sex), keep the mic an inch away from your face so that you drown
out other noises
List the components which are assessed during scene size up. - Answers :Start scene
size up when you get the dispatch call, determine whether it is safe to proceed, see if
additional resources are needed, PENMAN (P: personal, partner, and patient safety)
(E: environmental hazards)
(N: number of patients)
(N/M: nature of illness or mechanism of injury)
(A: additional resources if needed)
(N: need for spinal motion restriction [board or neck brace])
List the resources an EMT has to help identify an unknown hazardous material. -
Answers :Placards and labels tell you if there are hazardous materials around / what it
is / how dangerous it is, Emergency Response Guide (ERG) can be referred to to see
how to handle it, Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) can show what chemical
components there are and how to handle it, you can ask medical control what the
numbered hazardous material is and how to proceed, stay a very far safe distance from
the area until other resources can decontaminate and contain the hazards, be on the
lookout for sings of a possible hazardous material being present (dead animals,
discolored pavement, dead grass, visible vapors or puddles, labels, type of
building/container, etc), call for additional backup from fire department hazmat team and
wait to treat patients until after they have been decontaminated
Describe additional resources that may be required to assist the EMS provider. -
Answers :firefighters, utility workers, hazmat and hazardous materials workers, law
enforcement / police (PD), animal control, paramedics (ALS), medical control, air lift, etc
Discuss the importance of patient management at the scene of a crime and how the
EMT would go about moving items found at the crime scene. - Answers :be careful and
be respectful of the crime scene, ensure scene safety (no assailants, not fire hazard,
the ground isn't going to fall with you standing on it, etc), minimize disturbance to the
crime scene, put bloody clothing in paper bag so that it doesn't get moist, encourage
victims of sexual assault to not bathe or shower, avoid leaving lots of fingerprints and
footprints, document patient position, avoid moving anything unless necessary for
