Phases of an Ambulance Call Practice Questions

25 multiple-choice questions on Phases of an ambulance call for paramedic and EMT students, from Chapter 47 (Transport Operations). Read each question, pick your answer, then tap Show answer to check it and read the explanation.

25 practice questions

1. Your dispatch center uses automatic vehicle location (AVL). Its main benefit is that it:

   1. A. Replaces the need for crews to know streets
   2. B. Records crew speed to discipline drivers
   3. C. Lets dispatch send the closest unit
   4. D. Sets the lights-and-siren mode for each call
   Show answer

   Answer: C. Lets dispatch send the closest unit

   AVL shows where every unit is in real time, so dispatch can assign the closest available ambulance and shorten response times. Crews still need to know their area, and response mode comes from dispatch protocols, not AVL.

2. An emergency medical dispatcher using a structured protocol is most important because it:

   1. A. Replaces the need for a scene size-up
   2. B. Matches the response to the caller's complaint
   3. C. Lets the dispatcher decide the destination
   4. D. Guarantees lights and siren on high-risk calls
   Show answer

   Answer: B. Matches the response to the caller's complaint

   Structured EMD questions assign a response priority, which decides whether a call warrants a lights-and-siren response, and give the caller prearrival instructions. The crew still sizes up the scene and chooses the destination.

3. A 911 call comes from a cell phone, and the dispatcher's map shows only a wide circle around the caller's location. The best way to get an exact location is to:

   1. A. Rely on the map circle and send the closest unit
   2. B. Wait for the phone carrier to call back with it
   3. C. Ask the caller for the address and landmarks
   4. D. Send units to the nearest cell tower site
   Show answer

   Answer: C. Ask the caller for the address and landmarks

   Wireless location data can be off by tens to hundreds of meters, and in tall buildings it may miss the floor entirely. Dispatchers verbally confirm the address, cross streets, landmarks, or floor and apartment number. A map circle alone can send the unit to the wrong building.

4. A dispatcher receives a call about a man with a minor sore throat who has no breathing trouble or other red flags. In some systems, a suitable alternative to an ambulance is to:

   1. A. Transfer the caller to a nurse navigation line
   2. B. Send the nearest ALS unit with lights and siren
   3. C. Tell the caller to hang up and call back later
   4. D. Have police check on him before deciding
   Show answer

   Answer: A. Transfer the caller to a nurse navigation line

   Many 911 centers now route low-acuity callers, identified by structured dispatch protocols, to a nurse navigation or telehealth line that can arrange a clinic visit or other care. This keeps ambulances free for emergencies. Callers who cannot be safely managed this way still get an ambulance.

5. En route, dispatch says the patient is a 3-year-old who is seizing. A useful step before arrival is to:

   1. A. Plan a cool-water bath to stop the seizure
   2. B. Request a helicopter to meet you on scene
   3. C. Wait to plan until you see the child yourself
   4. D. Ready pediatric gear and a length-based tape
   Show answer

   Answer: D. Ready pediatric gear and a length-based tape

   Using en route time to get the length-based tape and pediatric equipment ready reduces dosing errors and delays. Cooling does not stop an active seizure, and a seizing child needs airway care and a benzodiazepine rather than air transport. Planning ahead does not prevent reassessing on arrival.

6. Dispatch asks you to stage for a domestic assault call. The best staging spot is:

   1. A. In front of the house with lights on
   2. B. Out of sight, with a clear exit route
   3. C. In the driveway to block the suspect's car
   4. D. Next door, where you can watch the door
   Show answer

   Answer: B. Out of sight, with a clear exit route

   Stage out of sight of the scene, close enough to respond quickly, with a route out that does not require backing. Parking in front with lights on or in the driveway announces your presence and can trap you.

7. Arriving first at a three-car crash, you give dispatch an on-scene report. It should include:

   1. A. A brief size-up and any resources needed
   2. B. Each patient's full vital signs and history
   3. C. The insurance carriers of the drivers
   4. D. Your planned hospital for each patient
   Show answer

   Answer: A. A brief size-up and any resources needed

   A short arrival report (what you see, number of patients, hazards, and resources needed) lets dispatch send help at once. Detailed patient data and destinations come later in the call.

8. At night you cannot find a house number on a dark rural road. The most helpful request to dispatch is to:

   1. A. Cancel the call until daylight returns
   2. B. Have the caller turn on outside lights
   3. C. Send police to search for the address
   4. D. Have the caller drive to the station
   Show answer

   Answer: B. Have the caller turn on outside lights

   Asking dispatch to have the caller turn on porch lights or flash lights, or to send someone to the road, finds the house fastest. Sending police to search adds delay, and a sick patient should not drive.

9. At a working house fire, the ambulance should be parked:

   1. A. In front of the house to treat victims fast
   2. B. Next to the engine for quick water access
   3. C. In the driveway, blocking the garage door
   4. D. Out of the way of apparatus and hose lines
   Show answer

   Answer: D. Out of the way of apparatus and hose lines

   Park where the unit does not block engines, ladders, hydrants, or hose lines and is outside the collapse zone, often as directed by command. Parking in front of the house interferes with firefighting and puts the unit at risk.

10. At a crash where a vehicle is on fire, you should park the ambulance at least:

    1. A. 10 feet away to shorten the carry
    2. B. Directly behind the burning vehicle
    3. C. 100 feet away, upwind if possible
    4. D. Downhill so fluids drain toward you
    Show answer

    Answer: C. 100 feet away, upwind if possible

    Keep at least about 100 feet from a burning vehicle, upwind and uphill, to avoid flames, smoke, fuel runoff, and exploding components. Downhill parking puts the unit in the path of burning fuel.

11. You arrive at a crash with a power pole snapped and a wire lying across the car. You should park:

    1. A. About 10 feet away from the downed wire
    2. B. At least one full span between poles away
    3. C. Next to the car to shield the patient
    4. D. Behind the broken pole, away from the wire
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    Answer: B. At least one full span between poles away

    Downed lines may be energized, and the ground around them can be charged; stay at least one pole span away until the utility company confirms the power is off. Never assume a downed line is dead. Ten feet is too close, since current spreads through the ground, and the car, the pole, and the area behind it are all within the hazard zone.

12. A tanker truck with an unknown hazardous material placard has overturned. You should approach from:

    1. A. Downhill, to see leaking fluid better
    2. B. Downwind, to smell the chemical safely
    3. C. Any direction once lights are on
    4. D. Uphill and upwind, staying well back
    Show answer

    Answer: D. Uphill and upwind, staying well back

    Approaching uphill and upwind keeps you out of vapors and runoff, and the Emergency Response Guidebook helps set safe distances. Using smell to identify a chemical exposes you to it.

13. During transport, your patient's SpO2 falls, and you find the onboard oxygen gauge reads empty. You should first:

    1. A. Switch to a portable cylinder at once
    2. B. Ask the driver to stop and refill the tank
    3. C. Increase the flowmeter setting on the wall
    4. D. Wait to see if the reading recovers
    Show answer

    Answer: A. Switch to a portable cylinder at once

    Move the patient to a portable cylinder immediately to restore oxygen, then reassess. Turning up the flowmeter does nothing when the supply is empty, and this is why onboard pressure is checked at the start of each shift.

14. Before starting to drive away from the scene with a patient, the driver should confirm that:

    1. A. The siren is set for the whole transport
    2. B. The patient's chest strap is loose for comfort
    3. C. The cot is locked and everyone is belted in
    4. D. The engine has warmed up for at least 5 minutes
    Show answer

    Answer: C. The cot is locked and everyone is belted in

    Before moving, check that the cot is locked into its mount, the patient's straps are on, crew and passengers are belted, and doors are secure. Lights-and-siren use depends on patient condition, not routine. Straps should be snug rather than loosened, and engine warm-up time is not a safety check before moving.

15. A family member wants to ride with a 6-year-old patient. The safest place for the parent is:

    1. A. Holding the child on the cot during the ride
    2. B. Standing in the patient compartment to comfort
    3. C. Sitting on the bench without a seat belt
    4. D. Belted in the front passenger seat
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    Answer: D. Belted in the front passenger seat

    Family riders must be belted in a seat, often the front passenger seat, so they do not become projectiles or interfere with care. A child is never held on an adult's lap in a moving ambulance.

16. When you hand off a patient at the ED, your report should record:

    1. A. The triage category the ED assigned
    2. B. Who accepted care and the time of handoff
    3. C. The name of the physician on call that day
    4. D. The time the ED physician first saw the patient
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    Answer: B. Who accepted care and the time of handoff

    Documenting the name and level of the person who accepted care, and the time, shows continuity of care and protects against abandonment claims. The triage category the ED assigns, the name of whichever physician is on call, and the time the ED physician first saw the patient belong to the hospital's record, not yours.

17. At the ED, an ambulance crew waits 90 minutes because no bed is available for their patient. This problem is known as:

    1. A. Offload delay
    2. B. Ambulance diversion
    3. C. Priority dispatch delay
    4. D. Hospital surge staging
    Show answer

    Answer: A. Offload delay

    Offload delay, or 'wall time,' keeps ambulances out of service and reduces coverage for new 911 calls. Diversion is when a hospital asks ambulances to go elsewhere, which is a different process.

18. Your patient brought her medication bottles and her purse in the ambulance. When you transfer care at the ED, you should:

    1. A. Keep the purse in the unit until her family asks
    2. B. Give them to a visitor in the waiting room
    3. C. Hand them to staff and note it in your report
    4. D. Discard the bottles, since the ED has a list
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    Answer: C. Hand them to staff and note it in your report

    Medication bottles help the ED confirm drugs and doses, and valuables should be handed directly to the receiving staff (or the patient) and the handoff documented, so nothing is lost and the crew is protected from claims of theft. Keeping her purse in the unit or giving belongings to an unidentified visitor breaks that chain of custody. The bottles should not be thrown away, because they may be the most accurate record of what she actually takes.

19. Before you finish your report at the ED, dispatch sends you to a cardiac arrest nearby. The best approach is to:

    1. A. Finish the full report before responding
    2. B. Decline the call until the report is done
    3. C. Respond and skip the report for this patient
    4. D. Leave a brief written summary and respond
    Show answer

    Answer: D. Leave a brief written summary and respond

    Leave the receiving staff a brief written summary of key findings and treatment, respond to the arrest, and complete the full report as soon as possible. Skipping the report entirely leaves a gap in the medical record.

20. Placing the unit back in service means the crew should:

    1. A. Return to the station before notifying anyone
    2. B. Clean the unit while staying out of service
    3. C. Notify dispatch that the unit is available
    4. D. Stay at the hospital until called
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    Answer: C. Notify dispatch that the unit is available

    Telling dispatch the unit is available lets the system assign the next call. Waiting to report until you reach the station, or staying out of service, leaves the system unaware of a ready unit.

21. Your agency requires crews to refuel when the tank drops below half. The main reason is that:

    1. A. Diesel engines are damaged below half a tank
    2. B. A long call may come with no time to refuel
    3. C. Fuel gauges read wrong below half a tank
    4. D. Insurers bar units from running below half
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    Answer: B. A long call may come with no time to refuel

    A unit may be sent on a long transfer, a mutual-aid call, or a disaster assignment with no chance to stop for fuel, so keeping the tank at least half full is part of readiness. Diesel engines are not damaged and fuel gauges are not less accurate below half a tank, and the rule is an agency readiness policy, not an insurance requirement.

22. Your report records the times of dispatch, arrival, departure, and hospital arrival. These times matter mainly because they:

    1. A. Document care and support quality review
    2. B. Set the crew's pay rate for each individual call
    3. C. Decide which unit gets the next call
    4. D. Replace the narrative of the report
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    Answer: A. Document care and support quality review

    Call times form part of the legal record and are used to measure response and scene times for quality improvement. They supplement, not replace, the narrative.

23. A patient's son plans to follow your ambulance to the hospital in his car. You should advise him to:

    1. A. Stay right behind you through red lights
    2. B. Use his hazard lights to stay close
    3. C. Drive ahead to alert the hospital staff
    4. D. Drive normally and meet you at the ED
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    Answer: D. Drive normally and meet you at the ED

    Family members have no emergency exemption, and following an ambulance through intersections causes crashes. Give him the destination and ask him to drive normally and obey traffic laws.

24. You are a BLS crew transporting a patient whose condition worsens, and the hospital is 30 minutes away. The best option is to:

    1. A. Have ALS meet you at the ED instead
    2. B. Request an ALS intercept along the route
    3. C. Stop on the roadside until a medic arrives
    4. D. Speed up with lights and siren to save time
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    Answer: B. Request an ALS intercept along the route

    An ALS intercept lets a paramedic unit meet you at a point along the route so advanced care starts sooner without stopping transport. Waiting on the roadside adds delay, having ALS meet you at the ED gives no advanced care on the way, and speeding saves little time while raising crash risk.

25. En route lights and siren, the first-arriving fire crew reports a minor injury with stable vital signs. You should:

    1. A. Downgrade to a nonemergency response
    2. B. Keep lights and siren, since dispatch coded it high
    3. C. Cancel and return to quarters at once
    4. D. Speed up to verify their findings
    Show answer

    Answer: A. Downgrade to a nonemergency response

    Updated information from trained responders on scene should change the response mode, reducing crash risk for a patient who will not benefit from speed. Canceling without assessing the patient is not appropriate unless protocol allows it.