OEC Patient Evaluation & Emergency Response 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During the scene size-up, which action should be performed FIRST upon arriving at an outdoor emergency?
- Begin patient assessment immediately
- Ensure scene safety for yourself and bystanders (Correct answer)
- Call for additional rescuers
- Obtain a patient history
Correct answer: Ensure scene safety for yourself and bystanders
Scene safety must be confirmed before approaching any patient to prevent rescuers from becoming additional victims.
Question 2: A skier is found unresponsive after a collision. After confirming scene safety, what is the OEC rescuer's next step?
- Begin CPR immediately
- Establish manual cervical spine stabilization (Correct answer)
- Check for bleeding
- Obtain a SAMPLE history from bystanders
Correct answer: Establish manual cervical spine stabilization
With a mechanism suggesting spinal injury, manual cervical spine stabilization is applied while assessing responsiveness.
Question 3: What does the 'E' stand for in the SAMPLE history mnemonic?
- Exposure
- Events leading to the incident (Correct answer)
- Emergency contacts
- Evaluation findings
Correct answer: Events leading to the incident
In SAMPLE, 'E' stands for Events leading to the incident, describing what the patient was doing when symptoms began.
Question 4: A conscious snowboarder reports knee pain after a fall. Which vital sign is LEAST immediately critical to assess in this isolated extremity injury?
- Pulse distal to the injury
- Respiratory rate (Correct answer)
- Skin color and temperature at the injury site
- Capillary refill distal to the injury
Correct answer: Respiratory rate
Respiratory rate, while important overall, is least specific to assessing neurovascular status in an isolated limb injury.
Question 5: When using the GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale) in the field, which component assesses the patient's best motor response?
- Eye opening to stimuli
- Verbal response coherence
- Limb movement to command or pain (Correct answer)
- Pupil reactivity
Correct answer: Limb movement to command or pain
The motor response component of the GCS evaluates purposeful movement, withdrawal, flexion, or extension to stimuli.
Question 6: A patient's skin is described as diaphoretic. What does this mean?
- Pale and mottled
- Cyanotic around the lips
- Cool and sweaty (Correct answer)
- Flushed and dry
Correct answer: Cool and sweaty
Diaphoretic refers to skin that is cool and clammy (sweaty), often indicating shock or severe physiologic stress.
Question 7: During a focused physical exam of a conscious trauma patient, the OEC rescuer should assess extremities for which finding using the mnemonic PMS?
- Pain, Motion, Sensation
- Pulse, Movement, Sensation (Correct answer)
- Perfusion, Mobility, Sensation
- Pulse, Moisture, Skin color
Correct answer: Pulse, Movement, Sensation
PMS stands for Pulse, Movement, and Sensation — used to assess neurovascular status in extremity injuries.
OEC Patient Evaluation & Emergency Response 2
During the scene size-up, which action should be performed FIRST upon arriving at an outdoor emergency?