5 Emergency Decision-Making Practice Cases Free Online FlashCards

What should EMS establish before assessing patients?

Make the scene safe and identify how many patients need care.

How should EMS balance immediate care and transport for an unstable patient?

Assess and address immediate threats using a systematic primary assessment. Do not let nonessential procedures delay transport of an unstable patient.

Which patient changes can alter transport urgency or destination?

Reassess after interventions and during transport. Changes in mental status, breathing, circulation, or vital signs can alter urgency and destination.

How do transport priority and destination differ?

Priority is how urgently the patient needs transport; destination is which facility can provide the needed care within the regional system.

What factors help determine an appropriate destination?

Consider the patient’s condition, facility capability, distance, system capacity, and local rules.

What do confusion and poor circulation after a high-speed crash suggest?

Pallor, confusion, a weak rapid pulse, low blood pressure, and a deformed pelvis after a high-speed crash indicate high risk and an immediately life-threatening injury.

Where should a high-risk trauma patient be transported?

Transport promptly to the highest appropriate trauma-care level available in the regional system, following local field-triage and bypass rules; the closest facility is not automatically best.

Why is a head strike concerning in a patient taking an anticoagulant?

A low-energy fall and reassuring initial assessment do not make a head strike safe to dismiss when the patient takes an anticoagulant.

What should happen if a patient with a head injury deteriorates?

Repeat assessments for deterioration. Worsening mental status or high-risk criteria can require greater transport urgency and a different destination.

What time information is important in suspected stroke?

Record the last-known-well time as accurately as possible.

What guides destination selection for suspected stroke?

Follow the regional stroke-triage pathway; destination may depend on stroke severity, travel time, hospital capabilities, and the reliability of transfer pathways.

What should EMS communicate to the receiving facility for suspected stroke?

Communicate the assessment findings and timing to the receiving facility.