- Scene Size-Up and Safety 17.2%
- Primary Assessment 41.4%
- Secondary Assessment 7.1%
- Patient Treatment and Transport 22.2%
- Operations 12.1%
Free · 2026 · 22.2% of the NREMT EMT NREMT Patient Treatment and Transport practice questions
Patient Treatment and Transport is 22.2% of the NREMT EMT. Answer 10 questions (6 on Patient Treatment and Transport) and see your score by domain, with every answer explained. Free, no sign-up.
A 23-year-old man fell onto a garden stake. A thin wooden stake has gone completely through his right cheek into his mouth. He is responsive but can't stop blood from pooling in his mouth, and you hear gurgling with each breath despite suctioning. There is no suspected spinal injury. What is the most appropriate action?
Tap an answer, or press A to D
Airway devices, oxygen and CPAP, CPR and AED, bleeding control, spinal motion restriction and splints, EMT medications, childbirth, transport and handoff.
What the NREMT EMT exam tests in Patient Treatment and Transport
- Manage the airway, ventilation and oxygenation: manual maneuvers, suctioning, oral and nasal airways, bag-valve-mask ventilation, oxygen delivery devices and flow rates, CPAP, foreign-body airway obstruction relief, ventilating stoma and tracheostomy patients
- Manage the cardiovascular and circulatory system: high-quality CPR for adults, children and infants, AED use, post-arrest care, hemorrhage control (direct pressure, tourniquets, wound packing), shock management
- Manage motion restriction of the musculoskeletal system: spinal motion restriction indications, cervical collars, long boards, scoops and vacuum mattresses, seated devices (KED), helmet considerations, splinting principles, traction splints, pelvic binders, dislocations, amputations
- Administer medication within EMT scope: oxygen, aspirin, oral glucose, epinephrine auto-injector, naloxone (intranasal and auto-injector), inhaled bronchodilator and anticholinergic, the patient's own sublingual nitroglycerin, oral OTC analgesics, antidote auto-injectors; six rights, indications, contraindications, side effects, medical direction and documentation
- Manage interventions specific to special populations: childbirth and delivery complications, newborn care and neonatal resuscitation, pregnancy-related emergencies, pediatric, older adult and bariatric patients, patients with special health care needs and home medical devices, behavioral emergencies and restraint, toxicologic and environmental emergencies, burns
- Manage patient transport: lifting and moving, emergency vs urgent vs non-urgent moves, patient positioning, choosing destination and transport mode, ALS intercept and air medical, ongoing care en route
- Communicate pertinent patient information: radio report to the receiving facility, consulting medical direction and repeating back orders, verbal handoff at transfer of care
High-yield patient treatment and transport facts
- Suction gurgling airways before ventilating. Rigid (Yankauer/tonsil-tip) catheter for the mouth, only as far as you can see. Soft (French) catheter for the nose, stoma and infants. Suction only while withdrawing; commonly taught limits are adult 15 s, child 10 s, infant 5 s (per protocol), oxygenating between attempts.
- BVM: O2 at 15 L/min with the reservoir. Two-person technique gives the best seal. Give each breath over ~1 s with just visible chest rise. Over-ventilation causes gastric distension, vomiting and aspiration, and reduces venous return.
- When assisting a breathing patient, time your squeezes with their inhalations.
- Stoma/tracheostomy: ventilate through the stoma with an infant/child mask, or connect the BVM to the trach tube's 15 mm adapter. Suction a blocked tube.
- O2 indications: SpO2 <94%, respiratory distress or shock. Titrate to 94–98%. No routine high-flow O2 for chest pain or stroke with normal SpO2. Never withhold O2 from a hypoxic COPD patient (the target is per protocol).
- Non-rebreather: fill the reservoir before applying, never run below 10 L/min, and don't let the bag fully collapse. Nasal cannula above ~6 L/min only dries mucosa. Use blow-by O2 for children who won't tolerate a mask.
| Device | Use when | Sizing | Insertion / cautions |
|---|---|---|---|
| OPA | Unresponsive, NO gag reflex | Corner of mouth to earlobe (or angle of jaw) | Adult: upside down, rotate 180° (or sideways, rotate 90°). Child: tongue depressor, insert right side up. Remove if gagging |
| NPA | Gag reflex present, altered patient | Tip of nose to earlobe | Water-soluble lubricant; bevel toward the septum (usually right nostril); avoid with suspected basilar skull fracture or severe facial trauma |
The full NREMT High-Yield Cram Sheet comes with full prep.
Common patient treatment and transport traps
- OPA only without a gag reflex; NPA bevel faces the septum.
- Ventilate an adult once every 6 seconds with just visible chest rise; more is harmful.
- Never run a non-rebreather below 10 L/min or with a collapsed bag.
- CPAP requires an awake, spontaneously breathing, non-hypotensive patient.
- 15:2 applies only to two-rescuer child and infant CPR; adults stay 30:2.
- Resume compressions immediately after a shock; no pulse check.
- 2025: no two-finger infant compressions; back blows first for choking adults and children.
- Use chest thrusts, not abdominal, for late pregnancy or obesity; never abdominal thrusts on infants.
Free NREMT patient treatment and transport practice questions
Question 1
A 24-year-old woman is found unresponsive beside a syringe. Her pupils are pinpoint and she takes about 4 shallow breaths per minute. She has a strong carotid pulse and her SpO2 is 78%. Your partner is holding a unit-dose naloxone nasal spray. What should you do first?
- AGive the intranasal naloxone right away and wait for her breathing to improve
- BBegin chest compressions at a ratio of 30 compressions to 2 breaths
- CPlace a non-rebreather mask at 15 L/min and reassess in two minutes
- DOpen her airway and ventilate with a BVM attached to high-flow oxygen
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Her breathing is inadequate, so restoring ventilation and oxygenation comes first. Naloxone can follow once breathing is supported.
Why not A: Naloxone takes minutes to work, and she is hypoxic now. Ventilation with a BVM must not be delayed for the drug.
Why not B: She has a strong pulse, so she is in respiratory arrest, not cardiac arrest. Compressions are not indicated.
Why not C: A non-rebreather only helps a patient who is breathing adequately. At 4 shallow breaths per minute she needs assisted ventilation.
Remember: In opioid overdose with a pulse, secure the airway and ventilate with a BVM first; naloxone aims to restore adequate breathing, not full wakefulness.
Question 2
A 24-year-old man has a stab wound in the right groin crease. Bright red blood is soaking through your gloved hand despite firm direct pressure. What is the most appropriate next step?
- AAdd more dressings on top without removing pressure and transport
- BElevate the leg and press on the femoral pressure point
- CApply a limb tourniquet at the groin crease directly over the wound
- DPack the wound tightly with gauze, hemostatic if available, and hold firm direct pressure
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. A groin wound is junctional, so a limb tourniquet cannot be placed above it. Tight packing plus sustained pressure is the recommended method.
Why not A: Stacking dressings over a wound that keeps bleeding does not put pressure on the bleeding source. Packing the wound cavity does.
Why not B: Elevation and pressure points are not reliable for controlling major bleeding. They should not replace wound packing.
Why not C: A tourniquet needs room above the wound on the limb. It cannot effectively compress a junctional wound at the groin crease.
Remember: Bleeding from the groin, armpit or neck cannot take a limb tourniquet; pack the wound tightly and hold direct pressure.
Question 3
A 34-year-old man was assaulted with a bat. He responds only to painful stimuli and has snoring respirations, bruising around both eyes, and clear fluid draining from his nose. He gags when you check his mouth. Your partner is holding manual spinal stabilization. Which airway action is most appropriate?
- AInsert a lubricated nasal airway in the right nostril with the bevel toward the septum
- BOpen the airway with a jaw thrust, keep it open manually, and suction as needed
- CInsert a correctly sized oral airway using the upside-down and rotate technique
- DOpen the airway with a head tilt-chin lift and apply a non-rebreather mask
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. a jaw thrust relieves the snoring obstruction while protecting the spine, and it avoids both an OPA (gag reflex present) and an NPA (suspected skull base fracture).
Why not A: The bevel and nostril technique is correct, but raccoon eyes and clear nasal fluid suggest a basilar skull fracture, which is a contraindication to a nasal airway.
Why not C: An oral airway is only for patients with no gag reflex; this patient gags, so it could cause vomiting and aspiration.
Why not D: Head tilt-chin lift is held in reserve for when a jaw thrust fails in suspected spinal injury; here the jaw thrust has not been tried.
Remember: Avoid a nasal airway when clear nasal fluid or raccoon eyes suggest a basilar skull fracture, and avoid an oral airway when the patient gags; use a manual maneuver instead.
Question 4
A 45-year-old woman with smoke exposure is breathing rapidly and receiving oxygen by non-rebreather mask at 10 L/min. With each breath in, the reservoir bag collapses completely. What is the most appropriate action?
- ARemove the one-way valves so the patient can draw in room air
- BSwitch to a nasal cannula at 6 L/min for better comfort
- CDecrease the flow to 6 L/min to prevent drying of the airway
- DIncrease the oxygen flow until the bag no longer fully collapses on inhalation
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. The reservoir must stay at least partly inflated during inhalation. Raise the flow, up to about 15 L/min, so the mask delivers a high oxygen concentration.
Why not A: Removing the valves dilutes the oxygen with room air. It does not address the inadequate flow.
Why not B: A nasal cannula delivers far less oxygen. That is the wrong choice for a patient in distress who needs high-concentration oxygen.
Why not C: Running a non-rebreather below 10 L/min starves the reservoir. It can also let the patient rebreathe exhaled air.
Remember: Keep a non-rebreather at 10 to 15 L/min with the reservoir bag never fully collapsing when the patient inhales.
Question 5
During a field assessment of a woman in active labor, the EMT sees a pulsating umbilical cord protruding from the vagina before the baby. Which action is correct?
- AGently push the cord back into the vagina, then cover the opening with a sterile pad
- BCoach the mother to push hard with each contraction so the baby delivers quickly
- CClamp the cord in two places and cut between the clamps to free it
- DRaise her hips, lift the presenting part off the cord with gloved fingers, and transport
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Elevating the hips or using knee-chest position plus manual pressure on the presenting part relieves cord compression; keep the cord moist and transport immediately with your hand in place.
Why not A: The cord must never be pushed back; doing so can kink or compress it and injure it further.
Why not B: Pushing drives the presenting part onto the cord and cuts off the baby's blood flow.
Why not C: Cutting the cord before birth eliminates the baby's only source of oxygen.
Remember: With a prolapsed cord, relieve pressure on it (hips raised, gloved hand lifting the presenting part), keep it moist, never push it back, and transport immediately.
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