PHTLS Post-Test Certification Exam Actual Exam
2026/2027 | 50 Questions with Verified Answers |
100% Correct | Pass Guaranteed
SECTION 1: Trauma Assessment & Scene Management (10 Questions)
Q1: You arrive first at a single-vehicle rollover at 02:30. The car is on its roof, windshield
starred, driver's door crushed. No one is outside. Your FIRST action after scene-safety
check is to:
A. Yell for survivors and begin patient care.
B. Call for a helicopter.
C. Perform a rapid 360° sweep to locate all patients and identify hazards.
D. Begin cervical-spine stabilization on any patient found.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: PHTLS 10th Ed. Scene Size-up: the 360° walk-around identifies number of
patients, mechanism, entrapped vs ejected victims, and hazards (fuel, fluids, downed
power lines) before committing resources.
XABCDE: Occurs prior to any patient contact.
Common error: Beginning care (A) before knowing how many patients exist.
Q2: Using START triage you find a 7-year-old who can walk but has a grossly angulated
forearm. Respirations 24, radial pulse 100, follows commands. Tag:
A. Immediate (Red)
,B. Delayed (Yellow)
C. Minor (Green)
D. Expectant (Black)
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: JumpSTART pediatric triage: ambulatory = first sort (Green), but significant
extremity injury with normal physiology places in Delayed (Yellow)—can wait 30–60 min
for splinting/transport.
START rule: Only one life-saving intervention allowed; none needed here.
Q3: At a two-car head-on collision the steering column is bent 10 cm and the windshield
has a “star” pattern on the passenger side. This mechanism suggests:
A. High-speed lateral impact
B. Significant deceleration force to the driver
C. Rollover mechanism
D. Rear-impact collision
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Bent steering column and starred windshield indicate frontal deceleration;
driver’s chest struck wheel while unrestrained head hit windshield—high index of
suspicion for cardiac/contusion, head injury, spine injury.
PHTLS principle: Predict injuries from mechanism before touching patient.
Q4: During primary survey you note a GCS of 12 (E3 V4 M5). Per PHTLS the NEXT
assessment is:
A. Check pupils
, B. Assess airway patency while maintaining spinal motion restriction
C. Obtain blood glucose
D. Calculate revised trauma score
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: XABCDE sequence: eXsanguinating hemorrhage → Airway (with SMR) →
Breathing. A declining GCS mandates immediate airway evaluation.
GCS<13 is an automatic ALS transport criterion.
Q5: A patient was ejected 15 m from motorcycle. Vital signs: BP 90/60, HR 130, RR 28,
SpO₂ 90 % RA. Per PHTLS the MOST important intervention is:
A. Full spinal immobilization
B. Rapid control of external hemorrhage and immediate transport
C. Establish two large-bore IVs on scene
D. Apply high-flow O₂ and splint fractures
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: eXternal hemorrhage control (X) precedes ABC; ejection + hypotension =
load-and-go.
Golden Hour: <10 min scene time; IV starts en route.
Q6: Which finding during scene size-up mandates immediate law-enforcement
assistance?
A. Patient yelling in pain
B. Presence of weapons inside vehicle
2026/2027 | 50 Questions with Verified Answers |
100% Correct | Pass Guaranteed
SECTION 1: Trauma Assessment & Scene Management (10 Questions)
Q1: You arrive first at a single-vehicle rollover at 02:30. The car is on its roof, windshield
starred, driver's door crushed. No one is outside. Your FIRST action after scene-safety
check is to:
A. Yell for survivors and begin patient care.
B. Call for a helicopter.
C. Perform a rapid 360° sweep to locate all patients and identify hazards.
D. Begin cervical-spine stabilization on any patient found.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: PHTLS 10th Ed. Scene Size-up: the 360° walk-around identifies number of
patients, mechanism, entrapped vs ejected victims, and hazards (fuel, fluids, downed
power lines) before committing resources.
XABCDE: Occurs prior to any patient contact.
Common error: Beginning care (A) before knowing how many patients exist.
Q2: Using START triage you find a 7-year-old who can walk but has a grossly angulated
forearm. Respirations 24, radial pulse 100, follows commands. Tag:
A. Immediate (Red)
,B. Delayed (Yellow)
C. Minor (Green)
D. Expectant (Black)
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: JumpSTART pediatric triage: ambulatory = first sort (Green), but significant
extremity injury with normal physiology places in Delayed (Yellow)—can wait 30–60 min
for splinting/transport.
START rule: Only one life-saving intervention allowed; none needed here.
Q3: At a two-car head-on collision the steering column is bent 10 cm and the windshield
has a “star” pattern on the passenger side. This mechanism suggests:
A. High-speed lateral impact
B. Significant deceleration force to the driver
C. Rollover mechanism
D. Rear-impact collision
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Bent steering column and starred windshield indicate frontal deceleration;
driver’s chest struck wheel while unrestrained head hit windshield—high index of
suspicion for cardiac/contusion, head injury, spine injury.
PHTLS principle: Predict injuries from mechanism before touching patient.
Q4: During primary survey you note a GCS of 12 (E3 V4 M5). Per PHTLS the NEXT
assessment is:
A. Check pupils
, B. Assess airway patency while maintaining spinal motion restriction
C. Obtain blood glucose
D. Calculate revised trauma score
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: XABCDE sequence: eXsanguinating hemorrhage → Airway (with SMR) →
Breathing. A declining GCS mandates immediate airway evaluation.
GCS<13 is an automatic ALS transport criterion.
Q5: A patient was ejected 15 m from motorcycle. Vital signs: BP 90/60, HR 130, RR 28,
SpO₂ 90 % RA. Per PHTLS the MOST important intervention is:
A. Full spinal immobilization
B. Rapid control of external hemorrhage and immediate transport
C. Establish two large-bore IVs on scene
D. Apply high-flow O₂ and splint fractures
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: eXternal hemorrhage control (X) precedes ABC; ejection + hypotension =
load-and-go.
Golden Hour: <10 min scene time; IV starts en route.
Q6: Which finding during scene size-up mandates immediate law-enforcement
assistance?
A. Patient yelling in pain
B. Presence of weapons inside vehicle
