NREMT EMT
Checked against NREMT sources. Published .Start free practiceStudy All · NREMT EMT quick referencePrimary Assessment
Primary Assessment
Share of the exam39 to 43%
Tables4
Tested facts7
| Adjunct | Patient | Sizing |
|---|---|---|
| Oropharyngeal airway | Apneic, unresponsive, no gag reflex, being ventilated | Corner of the mouth to the earlobe or angle of the jaw |
| Nasopharyngeal airway | Unconscious, uninjured, breathing adequately, or will not tolerate an oral airway; avoided with severe head or facial trauma where basilar skull fracture is suspected | Tip of the nose to the earlobe |
| Rigid tonsil-tip (Yankauer) suction | Fluid and thick secretions in the mouth, for no more than 15 seconds at a time | Like an oral airway: corner of the mouth to the earlobe |
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Adequate breathing | A regular rate around 16 with equal bilateral chest rise |
| Inadequate breathing | For example rate 28, shallow, diminished breath sounds: that patient needs ASSISTED VENTILATION, not more oxygen |
| Adult ventilation | One breath every 5 to 6 seconds (10 to 12 per minute), about 600 mL, just enough for visible chest rise, delivered slowly and gently |
| Effectiveness check | Visible equal chest rise and fall, and a heart rate returning to normal |
| Nonrebreathing mask | 10 to 15 L/min |
| Nasal cannula | Up to 6 L/min |
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Adult CPR | 100 to 120 per minute, 2 to 2.4 inches deep, 30:2 |
| Two-rescuer paediatric ratio | 15:2 |
| Infant compressions | Two fingers just below the nipple line, about 1.5 inches |
| Compression fraction | The share of resuscitation time spent compressing: aim for at least 60 per cent |
| Lone rescuer, child | About 2 minutes (five cycles) of CPR before leaving to call and get an AED |
| AED near an implanted device | Pad at least 1 inch away, then proceed normally |
| Patient | Heart rate | Respiratory rate |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | 90 to 180 (below 80 abnormal) | |
| Child | 70 to 120 | 20 to 30 per minute |
| Adult | 60 to 100 | 12 to 20 per minute |
Study All · NREMT EMT quick referencePatient Treatment & Transport
Patient Treatment & Transport
Share of the exam20 to 24%
Tables11
Tested facts17
| Finding | Meaning and action |
|---|---|
| Crowning | Delivery is imminent: prepare to deliver at the scene, since labour cannot be slowed or stopped |
| Green-tinged amniotic fluid | Meconium, fetal stool: signals possible fetal distress and a risk of meconium aspiration |
| Nuchal cord | Clamp the cord in two places, cut between them ONCE, then unwrap the loops from the neck |
| Breech presentation | Support the body without pulling; the mother's pushing efforts deliver the head |
| Limb presentation | Cannot be delivered vaginally in the field: supportive care and immediate transport for surgical delivery |
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| Definition | Death of an infant or young child that remains unexplained even after a complete autopsy |
| Toll | About 3,500 infants die of SIDS annually (CDC) |
| Risk factors | Mother younger than 20, maternal smoking during pregnancy, low birth weight |
| Prevention | Back sleeping on a firm mattress, crib free of bumpers, blankets and toys; same room as an adult but never the same bed |
| Feature | Hypoglycaemia | Hyperglycaemia |
|---|---|---|
| Onset | Minutes | Gradual, hours to days |
| Skin | Pale, moist, clammy | Warm and dry |
| Pulse | Rapid and weak | |
| Breathing | Deep rapid Kussmaul respirations with a fruity breath odour | |
| Correction | Reversed within minutes by glucose | A complex metabolic condition taking many hours to correct even in hospital |
| Route | Why |
|---|---|
| Sublingual | The richly vascular tissue under the tongue absorbs the drug within minutes and avoids breakdown by stomach acids |
| Intranasal (atomiser) | The nasal mucosa is highly vascular, giving fast absorption without a needle |
| Auto-injector | Delivers a preset accurate intramuscular dose quickly and safely, with no drawing up from a vial |
| Type | Mechanism | Signature |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | The pressure wave itself | Ruptured eardrums and lungs |
| Secondary | Flying debris: shrapnel, glass, splinters | Multiple penetrating wounds |
| Tertiary | The body hurled against a stationary object | Impact injuries, ground shock |
| Injury | Answer |
|---|---|
| Clavicle, scapula, AC separation | Sling and swathe, holding the arm against the chest wall |
| Femoral SHAFT fracture | Traction splint |
| Proximal femur (hip) in a geriatric patient | NO traction splint: backboard or scoop with pillows or rolled blankets supporting the limb as found |
| Lower leg, ankle, foot | NO traction splint: padded rigid, air or pillow splint including the foot up to the knee |
| Type | Picture |
|---|---|
| Absence (petit mal) | A brief staring lapse of consciousness, seconds long, no motor change, full rapid recovery |
| Simple partial (focal) | No change in consciousness; numbness, weakness, dizziness or twitching of a limb |
| Complex partial | Altered mental status with lip smacking, blinking, repetitive behaviour, from the temporal lobe |
| Typical febrile | Generalised, under 15 minutes, short or absent postictal phase |
| Injury | Story and posture |
|---|---|
| Patella | Teenagers and athletes; knee moderately flexed, patella displaced laterally; splint as found |
| Knee, posterior | The most common knee dislocation, from extreme hyperextension; high risk of popliteal artery injury |
| Hip, posterior | Knee strikes the dashboard; hip flexed, knee drawn toward the chest, thigh rotated inward over the opposite leg |
| Depth | Appearance |
|---|---|
| Superficial (first degree) | Red top layer only, no blisters |
| Partial thickness (second degree) | Blisters with moist, mottled, white-to-red skin, intensely painful |
| Full thickness (third degree) | Dry, leathery, white, brown or charred, painless in the deepest area |
| Disease | Cause | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| Croup (laryngotracheobronchitis) | Viral, below the vocal cords | Gradual onset after a cold, barking seal-like cough, stridor, low-grade fever; ages 6 months to 3 years |
| Epiglottitis | Bacterial; incidence dropped sharply since the childhood vaccine | Sudden onset in a well child: high fever, severe sore throat, tripod position, drooling |
| Bronchiolitis | Usually respiratory syncytial virus | Wheezing in the first 2 years of life, more common in boys, peaking winter and early spring |
| Condition | Mechanism | Skin and care |
|---|---|---|
| Heat cramps | Electrolyte shift from sweating | Alert, normal temperature; rest, cool environment, water |
| Heat exhaustion | Hypovolaemia from water and electrolyte loss in sweat | Cold, clammy, pale skin, rapid weak pulse, temperature normal or mildly raised |
| Heat stroke | Cooling has failed; core temperature climbing | Cold-water immersion once core temperature reaches 104 degrees Fahrenheit or mental status is altered |
Study All · NREMT EMT quick referenceScene Size-Up & Safety
Scene Size-Up & Safety
Share of the exam15 to 19%
Tables2
Tested facts2
| Zone | What it is | EMS role |
|---|---|---|
| Hot | The contaminated area | None |
| Warm | The transition area: access control points and the decontamination corridor | None routinely: carrying large bags in is impractical, which is why care there is limited |
| Cold | Safe, no special protective clothing | Triage, treatment and transport of decontaminated patients, from a designated area |
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Declaring | An EMT can declare a mass casualty incident; only an elected official can declare a disaster |
| Duration | An MCI generally lasts no longer than a few hours; a disaster can run days to weeks |
| Self-sufficiency | Plan for at least 72 hours, supported by mutual aid agreements |
| DMAT | Federal Disaster Medical Assistance Teams arrive with their own equipment |
| Freelancing | An individual unit or responder acting outside the coordinated command structure |
| Casualty collection area | Where teams triage, treat and prioritise |
Study All · NREMT EMT quick referenceOperations
Operations
Share of the exam10 to 14%
Tables2
Tested facts4
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| START-style sorting | Ability to walk, respiratory status, pulse status, neurologic status |
| Respiratory thresholds | Fewer than 15 or more than 45 breaths per minute |
| Apneic child | Five rescue breaths and recheck; if still not breathing, tag expectant |
| Reverse triage | Apneic and pulseless victims who would normally be expectant are treated first |
| Divisions versus groups | Divisions share a geographic area; groups share a function |
| Staging officer | Tracks arrivals and releases units |
| Transportation officer | Distributes patients among hospitals so none is overwhelmed, tracked by the tag's unique number |
| Mode | What it allows |
|---|---|
| Simplex | Push to talk, release to listen: either direction, but only one at a time |
| Duplex | Simultaneous two-way transmission and reception on a channel |
| Multiplex | More than one type of information carried at once on a single frequency |
Study All · NREMT EMT quick referenceSecondary Assessment
Secondary Assessment
Share of the exam5 to 9%
Tables0
Tested facts0
No tables or tested facts in this domain yet; the guide covers it in prose. The share above is still the real exam's.
Sources this sheet is checked against
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), patient assessment
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), mental status assessment
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), airway management, with Anatomy & Physiology for the Prehospital Provider (Jones & Bartlett)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), breathing assessment and ventilation
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), circulation and shock
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), resuscitation and assessment of trauma patients
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), paediatric assessment
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), patient assessment and shock
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), respiratory emergencies, with Pharmacology for the Prehospital Professional (Jones & Bartlett)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), medical emergencies, with Pharmacology for the Prehospital Professional (Jones & Bartlett)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), trauma and environmental emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), obstetrics and gynaecology, with National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines (NASEMSO, Version 3.0, March 2022)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), behavioural emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), soft-tissue injuries, face and neck injuries, and bleeding
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), obstetrics and neonatal care
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), paediatric emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), cardiovascular emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), toxicology and psychiatric emergencies, with National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines (NASEMSO, Version 3.0, March 2022)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), geriatric emergencies and patients with special challenges
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), respiratory emergencies, bleeding and patient assessment
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), neurologic emergencies and geriatric emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), gastrointestinal and urologic emergencies, and toxicology
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), respiratory emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), toxicology, with National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines (NASEMSO, Version 3.0, March 2022)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), endocrine and haematologic emergencies, geriatric emergencies and patients with special challenges
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), paediatric and gynaecologic emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), endocrine and haematologic emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), soft-tissue injuries, with National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines (NASEMSO, Version 3.0, March 2022)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), obstetrics and neonatal care, with National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines (NASEMSO, Version 3.0, March 2022)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), respiratory emergencies, with National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines (NASEMSO, Version 3.0, March 2022) and Pathophysiology cross-reference collection
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), neurologic emergencies and geriatric emergencies, with National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines (NASEMSO, Version 3.0, March 2022)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), toxicology and gastrointestinal emergencies, with National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines (NASEMSO, Version 3.0, March 2022)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), geriatric, paediatric and psychiatric emergencies, with National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines (NASEMSO, Version 3.0, March 2022)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), principles of pharmacology, with Pharmacology for the Prehospital Professional (Jones & Bartlett)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), respiratory and immunologic emergencies, and principles of pharmacology
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), head and spine injuries and trauma overview
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), soft-tissue injuries, shock and environmental emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), orthopaedic injuries
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), environmental emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), cardiovascular emergencies, patient assessment and patients with special challenges
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), neurologic and paediatric emergencies, and airway management
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), genitourinary injuries and paediatric emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), shock
- Pharmacology for the Prehospital Professional (Jones & Bartlett), endocrine emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), soft-tissue injuries
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), gastrointestinal and urologic emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), toxicology, with Pharmacology for the Prehospital Professional (Jones & Bartlett)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), obstetrics and paediatric emergencies, with National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines (NASEMSO, Version 3.0, March 2022)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), principles of pharmacology and endocrine emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), face and neck injuries, immunologic and environmental emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), neurologic emergencies, medical overview and medicolegal issues
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), toxicology, with Pharmacology for the Prehospital Professional (Jones & Bartlett) and National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines (NASEMSO, Version 3.0, March 2022)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), face and neck injuries and head injuries
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), chest injuries, orthopaedic injuries and trauma overview
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), head and spine injuries
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), geriatric emergencies, respiratory emergencies and patients with special challenges
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), psychiatric emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), gynaecologic emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), neurologic emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), cardiovascular emergencies and bleeding, with Pharmacology for the Prehospital Professional (Jones & Bartlett)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), gastrointestinal and urologic emergencies and patient assessment
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), toxicology
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), soft-tissue and orthopaedic injuries
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), cardiovascular and respiratory emergencies
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), obstetric, medical and pharmacology chapters, with National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines (NASEMSO, Version 3.0, March 2022)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), principles of pharmacology, orthopaedic injuries and patients with special challenges
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), scene size-up
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), infection control
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), workforce safety and wellness, and infectious diseases
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), infectious diseases
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), workforce safety and wellness
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), hazardous materials and scene safety
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), vehicle extrication and mass casualty incidents
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), vehicle extrication and special rescue, with patient assessment
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), medical, legal and ethical issues
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), medical, legal and ethical issues, with National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines (NASEMSO, Version 3.0, March 2022)
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), psychiatric emergencies and medical, legal and ethical issues
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), documentation and communications
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), ambulance operations and incident management
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), EMS systems and medical, legal and ethical issues
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), incident management, communications and transport operations
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), baseline vital signs
- Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (AAOS / Jones & Bartlett), secondary assessment
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Study All editorial team. NREMT EMT quick reference. https://study-all.com/references/nremt-emt
Link to Study All or to this page; the text and tables are free to reproduce for study with that credit.
