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Chapter 4: Medical, Legal, and Ethical Issues Practice Questions

About this Chapter 4 practice test

Part of the EMS Operations practice questions exam area.

This page holds 321 free practice questions for Chapter 4, Medical, Legal, and Ethical Issues, covering consent and refusal, negligence, advance directives, HIPAA, mandatory reporting, and ethics. They are written for paramedic and EMT students working through Nancy Caroline's Emergency Care in the Streets, 9th edition. Every question shows the correct answer with a short explanation as soon as you tap, so you learn while you test rather than waiting until the end.

Study it two ways: the 10 Question Blitz, a quick round where every right answer lights a siren and any misses lead into Lights & Sirens, a 5-in-a-row drill on that section, or the full 100-question test drawn at random from the whole chapter. After each test you get a score and a section-by-section breakdown. Progress on the full test is saved on your device, so you can stop and pick up later.

Topics covered in Chapter 4

Sample questions from this chapter

Which of the following is a source of law in the United States?

  1. A. Statutes, regulations, and court decisions
  2. B. Textbook standards and national curricula
  3. C. Hospital bylaws and medical staff rules
  4. D. Agency policy manuals and union contracts

Answer: A. Statutes, regulations, and court decisions
US law comes from constitutional, statutory, regulatory, and common (case) law. Common law comes from court decisions rather than legislatures.

An advance directive is:

  1. A. A standing medical order for all patients
  2. B. A patient's own instructions for future care
  3. C. A consent form signed at hospital admission
  4. D. An order written by the treating paramedic

Answer: B. A patient's own instructions for future care
It is made while the patient has capacity. Living wills and health care proxies are common forms.

Ethics can be distinguished from law because ethics concerns:

  1. A. What agency policy permits
  2. B. What licensure rules require
  3. C. What one morally ought to do
  4. D. What the law requires of providers

Answer: C. What one morally ought to do
Ethics concerns what one ought to do, which may exceed what the law requires. A legal action can still be unethical.

How students use this page

Most students use the 10 Question Blitz for daily practice and take the full 100-question test in the days before a class exam or NREMT practice. Lights & Sirens after a blitz is the fastest way to close gaps the night before a test.

Every question in this chapter is also listed by section, with answers, on the topic pages above. See all paramedic topics or take the NREMT paramedic practice test.

Other chapters

Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6 Ch. 7 Ch. 8 Ch. 9 Ch. 10 Ch. 11 Ch. 12 Ch. 13 Ch. 14 Ch. 15 Ch. 16 Ch. 17 Ch. 18 Ch. 19 Ch. 20 Ch. 21 Ch. 22 Ch. 23 Ch. 24 Ch. 25 Ch. 26 Ch. 27 Ch. 28 Ch. 29 Ch. 30 Ch. 31 Ch. 32 Ch. 33 Ch. 34 Ch. 35 Ch. 36 Ch. 37 Ch. 38 Ch. 39 Ch. 40 Ch. 41 Ch. 42 Ch. 43 Ch. 44 Ch. 45 Ch. 46 Ch. 47 Ch. 48 Ch. 49 Ch. 50 Ch. 51 Ch. 52 Ch. 53

These practice questions were written for this site. They are not the publisher's test bank and are not affiliated with or endorsed by Jones & Bartlett Learning, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, or the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. Use them alongside your textbook and your instructor's objectives.