Free NREMT EMT practice questions with answers

Question 3

You are dispatched to a residence for a reported illness. Which information should you obtain from the dispatcher before responding?

• The patient's insurance carrier
• The receiving hospital's current bed count
• The patient's complete past medical history
• The exact location of the patient and the nature of the callCorrect

Why: Dispatch exists to get the right resource to the right place: the responding crew needs the exact address and access details plus the reported nature of the call, and may ask dispatch for any other available scene information such as floor or entrance. Insurance, hospital bed counts, and a full medical history are not dispatch-phase information and do not change the response. Primary reference: Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS/Jones & Bartlett Learning, 11th Edition), EMS Operations module, p. 34.

Question 4

You transfer care of your patient to the emergency department nurse. Which information is MOST important to include in your oral hand-off report?

• Changes in the patient's condition during transport and the treatments you providedCorrect
• Your personal impressions of the patient's living conditions
• The certification levels of everyone on your crew
• A detailed timeline of your unit's previous calls that shift

Why: Transfer of care hinges on effective communication with the receiving clinician: what changed en route and what was done about it are exactly the facts the hospital cannot learn from anyone but you. Personal impressions phrased as opinion invite bias and liability without aiding care, and crew credentials or unrelated call history add nothing to this patient's treatment. Primary reference: Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS/Jones & Bartlett Learning, 11th Edition), Preparatory module, p. 174. Cross-reference: National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines, Version 3.0, March 2022, p. 13.

Question 5

En route to the hospital with a stable medical patient, you contact the receiving facility. Which element belongs in your radio patient report?

• The patient's full legal name and home address
• Your billing and mileage information
• Your estimated time of arrivalCorrect
• The names of the patient's family members on scene

Why: The en-route radio report tells the receiving facility what is coming and when, so it can prepare: patient presentation, treatment, and the estimated time of arrival. Protected identifying details such as full name and address do not belong on an open radio channel, and billing or family information has no role in the report. Primary reference: Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS/Jones & Bartlett Learning, 11th Edition), Preparatory module, p. 29.

Question 6

Who is responsible for verifying that the medications and supplies on an ambulance are present, in date, and ready for use at the start of a shift?

• The receiving hospital's pharmacy staff
• The EMS dispatcher
• The medical director, personally, each shift
• The EMTs assigned to that ambulanceCorrect

Why: Checking the ambulance and confirming its equipment and supplies are ready is a core duty of the crew assigned to the unit — the EMTs who will depend on that equipment on the next call. Hospital pharmacies and dispatchers have no access to the unit, and the medical director provides oversight, not a physical shift check. Primary reference: Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS/Jones & Bartlett Learning, 11th Edition), Preparatory module, p. 20.

Question 7

Per national EMT ambulance-operations guidance, what is the minimum staffing required in the patient compartment whenever a patient is being transported?

• At least one EMT must ride in the patient compartmentCorrect
• The driver alone may monitor the patient from the cab
• Two paramedics must always be present
• Staffing minimums apply only in emergency (lights-and-siren) mode

Why: An ambulance must carry at least one EMT in the patient compartment any time it is transporting a patient, because someone trained in emergency care has to be positioned to monitor and treat that patient throughout the ride. Two EMTs is the preferred staffing model, and some systems allow a trained non-EMT driver paired with a single EMT in back, but staffing below one EMT in the compartment is not acceptable. The driver cannot substitute for compartment coverage because their attention must stay on operating the vehicle safely. Primary reference: Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS/Jones & Bartlett Learning, 11th Edition), Transport Operations, pp. 1360-1361.

Question 8

Portable and mounted suctioning units carried on an ambulance must be powerful enough to generate what minimum vacuum when the tubing is clamped?

• 80 mm Hg
• 150 mm Hg
• 300 mm HgCorrect
• 500 mm Hg

Why: Ambulance suction units, whether portable or mounted, must be able to generate at least 300 mm Hg of vacuum when the tubing is clamped shut, which ensures the unit can clear the airway of vomitus, blood, and secretions quickly enough to prevent aspiration. The suctioning force must also be adjustable so it can be turned down for infants and children without causing tissue damage. This specification is why EMTs check suction units as part of the daily ambulance inspection. Primary reference: Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS/Jones & Bartlett Learning, 11th Edition), Transport Operations, pp. 1354-1360.

Question 9

During transport, how often should a stable patient's vital signs be reassessed, and how often for an unstable patient?

• Every 5 minutes stable; every 15 minutes unstable
• Every 15 minutes stable; every 5 minutes unstableCorrect
• Every 10 minutes for both stable and unstable patients
• Only once, immediately before arrival at the hospital

Why: A stable patient should have vital signs and a focused reassessment repeated about every 15 minutes en route, while an unstable or critical patient needs reassessment about every 5 minutes so that any deterioration is caught quickly enough to act on it. This reassessment interval is a widely used EMS practice built into the transport phase of an ambulance call. Reassessment also includes rechecking interventions and any new complaints, not vital signs alone. Primary reference: Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS/Jones & Bartlett Learning, 11th Edition), Transport Operations, pp. 1353-1368.

Question 10

An EMT wipes visible blood off a stretcher rail, then applies an EPA-registered germicidal solution to the rail. What has just been accomplished, in order?

• Sterilization, then high-level disinfection
• Cleaning, then disinfectionCorrect
• Disinfection, then cleaning
• High-level disinfection, then sterilization

Why: Cleaning is the physical removal of dirt, dust, blood, or other visible contamination from a surface, while disinfection is the killing of pathogens by applying a chemical made for that purpose. Cleaning has to happen first because organic material left on a surface can shield pathogens from a disinfectant and reduce its effectiveness. High-level disinfection and sterilization are more intensive still, reserved for equipment that needs a higher assurance of pathogen removal than a stretcher rail wipe-down. Primary reference: Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS/Jones & Bartlett Learning, 11th Edition), Transport Operations, p. 1367.