EMT Chapter 1

Continuous Quality Improvement

A ____ ____ ____ (CQI) system is designed to identify areas of improvement and appropriate education to help fix them.

Orange Book

Also known as this, the Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured was the first EMT textbook and was published by the American Academy of the Orthopedic Surgeons in 1971.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Although specific training and licensure requirements vary from one state to another, almost every state's requirements follow or exceed this current EMS education standards (whose standards is it):

education

Constant training and ____ are required to keep the EMT's knowledge of technological developments up to date

The White Paper

EMS as we know it today had its origins in 1966 with the publication of Accidental Death and Disability: The Neglected Disease of Modern Society, known more commonly as this:

Advanced EMTs (AEMTs)

EMS providers who have training in specific aspects of advanced life support (ALS), such as intravenous (IV) therapy and the administration of certain emergency medications, are called:

didactic instruction, psychomotor instruction, clinical behavior/judgement

EMT courses provide these three forms of learning skills: ____ ____ which provides the knowledge, ____ ____ which provides skills laboratories, and ____ ____/____ which provides professionalism.

continuing education

In order the maintain licensure, EMTs are required to maintain a certain number of hours of ____ ____.

dispatcher

It is the duty of the ____ to relay all relevant and available information to the responding crews in a timely manner

legal

ONe of the primary responsibilities of each state is to ensure the safety of its residents and therefore states have requirements prohibitiing individuals with certain types of ____ histories, such as felonies and misdemeanors, from becoming EMS providers

public health

Prevention and public education are two components of this, which examines the health needs of entire populations with the goal of preventing health problems

NHTSA of the DOT, Department of Health and Human Services

The Accidental Death and Disability: the Neglected Disease of Modern Society (aka the white paper) revealed that prehospital emergency care and transportation had serious inadequacies; therefore, Congress mandated that these two federal agencies address these issues: ____ ____ ____ ____ through the Highway Safety Act of 1966, and the ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ through the Emergecy Medical Act of 1973

detection, reporting, response, on-scene care, care in transit, transfer to definitive care

The EMS "Star of Life" symbol has 6 bars radiating from the center, each bar representing an EMS function; The six functions are:

Emergency Medical Dispatch

The ____ ____ ____ System was developed to allow dispatchers to provide instructions to the caller until EMS arrives.

quality control

The medical director is responsible for maintaining this so that all staff members who are involved in caring for patients meet appropriate medical care standards on each call; to do this, the medical director reviews patient care reports, audits administrative records, and surveys patients.

National Highway Traffic Safety

The organization in the United States government that is responsible for establishing the National Standard Curriculum for each EMT level is the ____ ____ ____ ____ Administration.

EMT

The party responsible for ensuring that an EMT maintains his or her ability to provide high-quality EMS care and updates his or her knowledge of EMS care is the:

1966

The report Accidental Death and Disability: The Neglected Disease of Modern Society was published in this year, causing it to be the beginning of the modern era of EMS.

fire departments, private organizations

The two primary types of EMS services that transport patients within the United States are ____ ____ and ____ ____.

direct

The type of medical control where a physician may either confirm or modify a proposed treatment plan over the radio or telephone is referred to as online or ____ medical control

public access, clinical care, medical direction, integration of health services, information systems, prevention, EMS research, communication systems, human resources, legislation and regulation, evaluation, system finance, public education, education systems

These are the 14 components of the EMS System as listed in the EMS Agenda for the Future:

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

This act of 1990 protects individuals who have a disability from being denied access to programs and services that are provided by state or local governments and prohibits employers from failing to provide full and equal employment to the disabled

EMS Agenda for the Future

This important document was created in the 1990s by the NHTSA with the counsel of EMS providers, physicians, fire chiefs, nurses, state administrators, educators, etc. and it created a plan to standardize the levels of EMS education and EMS providers in an effort to ensure a more seamless delivery of EMS care across the country (or eliminate variation)

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)

This is a document that protects the patient's privacy

public safety access point

This is an emergency communication center where trained dispatchers obtain the necessary info from the caller and, following dispatch protocols, dispatch the ambulance crew and other equipment and responders that may be needed; these units, such as fire, police, rescue, and EMS can be reached by dialing 9-1-1

False

True/False: The roles and responsibilities of the EMT includes placing yourself or your partner at risk to save a patient's life.

True

True/False: When you are called to assist a patient who is uncooperative and verbally abusive, you should treat the patient with respect and call for law enforcement assistance.

National EMS Scope of Practice Model

What federal document provides overarching guidelines as to what skills each level of EMS provider should be able to accomplish?

continuous quality improvement (CQI)

this is a circular system of continuous internal and external reviews and audits of all aspects of an EMS system; this is done by periodic run review meetings, positive feedback, and identifying areas of improvement and if necessary, assigning remedial training or develop other educational activities

primary prevention

this is a form of prevention that focuses on strategies that will prevent the event from every happening;examples of this include vaccinations and informing people on the dangers of drinking and driving

secondary prevention

this is a form of prevention where the event has already happened but it attempts to decrease the effects of the event; examples of this include seatbelts during an accident or guardrails on a highway

airway adjunct

this is a medical device that is used to maintain or open a patient's airway; It does this by preventing the tongue from covering the epiglottis, which could prevent the person from breathing

emergency medical services (EMS)

this is a system that consists of a team of heath care professionals who, in each area or jurisdiction, are responsible for and provide emergency care and transportation to the sick and injured

emergency medical dispatch (EMD)

this is a system that has been developed to assist dispatchers in providing callers with vital instruction to help them deal with a medical emergency until the arrival of EMS crew

certification exam

this is an exam used to ensure that all health care providers have at least the same basic level of knowledge and skill

medical control

this is either off-line/indirect or onlike/direct as authorized by the medical director, and it entails protocols, orders, and/or medical directions that must be followed in specific circumstances

packaging

this is the aspect of the job of an EMT that includes the transportation of the patient to a facility, such as a hospital, clinic, or other medical care facility

scene size-up

this is the assessment of the environment, or the the scene, and is involved with the EMT's primary job, which is to ensure that he/she is as safe as possible

patient assessment

this is the foundation of any EMS call; the EMT does this by determining what is wrong with the patient and determining which complaints are life-threatening (and which complaints are not)

primary service area (PSA)

this is the main area in which an EMS agency operates and is the reason that each EMT should familiarize his/herself with the roads in this area

medical director

this is the physician who authorizes the EMTs in the service to provide medical care in the field; he/she provides the ongoing working liaison between the medical community, hospitals, and the EMTs in the service

certification

this is the process in which a person, an institution, or a program is evaluated and recognized as meeting certain predetermined standards to provide safe and ethical care

licensure

this is the process whereby a state allows individuals to perform a regulated act.

chief executive officer

this is usually a senior EMS official who acts as an administrator, especially for everyday operations and necessary administrative tasks such as scheduling, budgets,etc.

treatment

this is what the EMT administers to the patient to provide a solution to their medical problem; examples include oxygenation, medical therapies, and the controlling of bleeding; along with hands-on skills, emotional and mental care of the patient is included

paramedic

this level of licensed medical provider has extensive training in ALS, including endotracheal intubation, emergency pharmacology, cardiac monitoring, and other advanced assessment and treatment skills

emergency medical technician (EMT)

this level of licensed medical provider has training in basic life support (BLS), including AED (automated external defibrillation), use of airway adjuncts, and assisting patients with certain medications

advanced emergency medical technician (AEMT)

this level of licensed medical provider has training in specific aspects of advanced life support (ALS) such as intravenous (IV) therapy and the administration of certain emergency medications

emergency medical responder (EMR)

this level of licensed medical provider has very basic training, provides care before the ambulance arrives, and may also perform in an assistant role with the ambulance