10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
The EMS exam has 300 questions and runs 6 hours 20 minutes.
These 10 free EMS questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
An EMS contract applies the same response-time limit to every 911 call. Review shows crews use lights and sirens for low-acuity calls to avoid financial penalties. Geographic coverage and staffing are adequate, and clinical-outcome and collision monitoring will continue. Which replacement response-time framework best addresses this incentive?
Correct answer: A - Set tiered response-time thresholds using medically supervised dispatch acuity.
An EMS physician notices multiple transports for vomiting and diarrhea among employees of the same food-processing plant. No common pathogen has been confirmed. The county health department, acting under its lawful outbreak-investigation authority, requests the patients' names, contact information, work locations, and symptom-onset times. Its investigator explains why these fields are the minimum information needed to identify an exposure pattern and contact affected people. The agency is a HIPAA-covered entity, and no more restrictive confidentiality law applies. What should the physician approve?
Correct answer: B - Secure disclosure of the requested line list to the health department without individual authorizations.
A 74-year-old taking apixaban strikes his head in a fall. Vital signs, glucose, and neurologic examination are normal. He refuses hospital evaluation to remain with his terminally ill spouse. Speaking with the EMS physician, he explains the risk of an occult brain hemorrhage, applies the possibility of disability or death to himself, and compares that risk with leaving his spouse. His choice remains consistent, and no reversible impairment is identified. His daughter can stay with him. Local law allows adults with decision-making capacity to refuse; no detention authority applies. Which disposition respects both the clinical findings and the patient's rights?
Correct answer: D - Honor the informed refusal, document the assessment, and establish return precautions and follow-up.
During transport, an intubated patient with severe asthma is passively ventilated at 28 breaths/min. Blood pressure falls from 118/72 to 64/38 mmHg over several minutes. Waveform capnography confirms tube position, and breath sounds are bilateral. Brief circuit disconnection produces a prolonged exhalation and rapid blood-pressure improvement. What change would best prevent this mechanism of hypotension from recurring?
Correct answer: C - Reduce the set respiratory rate to lengthen expiratory time.
Two minutes after an unplanned home birth, a term infant remains apneic. Warming and airway positioning are complete. Thirty seconds of room-air ventilation with visible chest movement raises the ECG heart rate from 48 to 84/min. Right-hand oxygen saturation is 68%. The next intervention is:
Correct answer: D - Continue effective positive-pressure ventilation and reassess the heart rate.
A 34-year-old motorcyclist has a severe blunt head injury, suspected pelvic hemorrhage, and a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 7 before intubation. A pelvic binder is correctly positioned, blood-product resuscitation has begun, and transport to a trauma center is underway. Systolic pressure is 86 mmHg. Pupils are equal and reactive, with no new posturing or other evidence of active herniation. Which paired target is most appropriate during transport?
Correct answer: D - Systolic pressure at least 110 mmHg and end-tidal CO₂ 35-45 mmHg.
A critical-care transport physician evaluates an adult with type 2 diabetes taking empagliflozin who has vomiting, abdominal pain, and deep respirations. Glucose is 176 mg/dL, β-hydroxybutyrate 4.6 mmol/L, venous pH 7.21, bicarbonate 11 mmol/L, and potassium 4.4 mmol/L. Initial isotonic fluid is running; blood pressure and renal function are normal. The transport team can provide protocol-directed infusions with serial glucose and electrolyte monitoring. How should insulin and carbohydrate be administered during transport?
Correct answer: A - Begin IV insulin with concurrent 5-10% dextrose.
An EMS medical director is estimating the benefit of a prehospital intervention before a local pilot. In a randomized trial with complete 30-day follow-up, 160 of 1,000 intervention patients died, compared with 200 of 1,000 control patients. The comparable local population has an estimated untreated 30-day mortality risk of 10%. Assuming the trial's relative treatment effect applies locally, what is the expected local number needed to treat to prevent one additional death over 30 days?
Correct answer: C - 50
An EMS service tracks the monthly proportion of intubated adults who develop postintubation hypotension. A p-chart has an established centerline of 18%. After a protocol revision, nine consecutive monthly values fall below that centerline, although all remain within the original three-sigma control limits. The service's prespecified rules include eight consecutive points on one side of the centerline as a signal. Which conclusion is best supported?
Correct answer: C - The run signals a process change; concurrent changes still need assessment before attributing it to the protocol.
At a prolonged wildfire incident, the Operations Medical Group directs civilian triage, treatment, and transport. A separate plan is needed for medical aid stations, emergency transportation, and receiving hospitals for incident personnel. For this responder-support plan, who prepares ICS Form 206 and who reviews it?
Correct answer: B - The Logistics Medical Unit Leader, with review by the Safety Officer.
The full bank has 1,020 more EMS questions with explanations.
Continue in the free practice test →
View plans