Assessment Flashcards
An organized, systematic evaluation of the patient’s initial presentation, medical history, physical exam findings, and diagnostic test results is _____________.
essential
___________________ uses various communication techniques and strategies, both verbal and nonverbal, to encourage patients to express how they are feeling and achieve a positive, empathetic relationship with the patient.
Therapeutic Communication
__________________ is the connection between you and your patients.
Engagement
__________ refers to your sincere identification with the patient’s feelings of anxiety, pain, fear, panic or loss.
Empathy
______________ of your patients fortifies your bond by letting them know what is happening and what you are doing.
Education
____________ , which includes facial expressions, body language, and eye contact, is a powerful form of communication.
Nonverbal communication
__________________ involved good judgement combined with a knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology seasoned by clinical experience to direct questioning about the patient’s complaints.
Clinical reasoning
________________ is a working hypothesis of the nature of the problem.
differential diagnosis
_________ is the presumed cause of the patient’s condition
working diagnosis
___________________ is a process in which decisions are made about a patient’s healthcare problems and appropriate therapeutic interventions are considered and implemented to improve a patient’s outcome
clinical decision making
_______ is a process of recognizing and classifying data (patterns) based on past knowledge and experience.
pattern recognition
______________________ is a reliable process for reducing patient morbidity and mortality by identifying a broad range of medical emergencies early and managing them effectively.
AMLS assessment pathway
It is important to protect the _____________ of a crime scene and preservation of associated evidence, as well as the safety of the victim.
integrity
The _____________________ is what the patient, family member, or friend reports to you as as or her primary concern.
chief complaint
The __________________ identifies life-threatening presentations and establishes immediate management strategies.
primary survey
LOC is associated with the function of the ________________ and the cerebral hemispheres.
Reticular Activating system
___________________ is a high-level neurologic function and demonstrates a response to person, place and time.
Awareness
A GCS score of ________ or less often indicates the need for aggressive airway management.
8
If you __________ the patient for too long, you may create new problems, such as hypoxia and bradycardia secondary to vagal stimulation.
suction
Lung Sound: a hollow bubbling sound, and upper airway condition
gurgling
Lung Sound: A harsh, high pitched sound heard during inhalation; indicates narrowing, usually as a result of swelling in the upper airway.
Stridor
Lung Sound: High pitched, whistling sounds made by air being forced through narrow airways, which makes them vibrate.
Wheezing
Lung Sound: Typically described as the sound of hair rolling between your fingers.
Rales
Lug Sound: Low pitched crackles caused by secretions in the larger airways
Rhonchi
An _______________ can be auscultated at the apex of he heart near the fifth intercostal space, a landmark known as the point of maximum impulse.
apical pulse
A blanching time of more than _______ is considered an indicator that capillary blood is being inappropriately shunted.
2 seconds
____________________ is calculated by subtracting diastolic blood pressure from systolic blood pressure.
Pulse Pressure
A ________________ pulse pressure may indicate shock or cardiac tamponade.
Narrowing
Holding a fist on the chest is known as _________________.
Levine’s Sign
Decorticate posturing indicates dysfunction of the _________________.
cerebral cortex
The history f the present illness can be obtained by using the mnemonic _____________.
OPQRST
______________ pain is from internal organs and often vague and difficult to localize.
Visceral
________________ pain can be precisely located and more likely to be sharp or stabbing in nature.
Somatic
Abdominal Distention with pain in the shoulder is known as _________________.
Kehr’s Sign
________________ are the subjective perceptions of what the patient feels, such as nausea, or has experienced, such as a sensation of seeing flashing lights.
Symptoms
_________ are objective data you or another healthcare professional have observed, felt, seen, heard, touched, or smelled and usually measured, such as data indicating tachycardia.
Signs
The __________________ consists of two elements - obtaining vital signs measuring overall body function and performing a head-to-toe surgery evaluating the workings of specific body systems.
secondary survey
_______________ is the tension exerted by blood on the arterial walls.
Blood pressure
_________ are abnormal sounds sometimes heard when the carotid arteries are auscultated; they produce high pitched sounds indicating blood flow obstruction in those vessels.
Bruits
Upper right quadrant tenderness that worries with inspiration, known as _____________, is an indication of the presence of gallstones and cholecystitis.
Murphy’s Sign
____________________ is the name of the area over the right side of the abdomen, one-third of the distance from the anterior superior iliac spine to the umbilicus.
McBurney’s Point
Palpation of the left lower quadrant eliciting pain in the right lower quadrant, called ________________, can also be an indicator of appendicitis.
Rovsing’s Sign
A positive ______________ test is indicated by abnormal extension of the great toe and fanning of the remaining toes, a response called dorsiflexion.
Babinski
A ___________________ takes advantage of the hemoglobin’s propensity to absorb light, which results in an indirect measurement of oxygen saturation.
pulse oximeter
The normal value of ETCO2 in the blood is between _____________ mmHg.
32 - 43
_________________ is the quantitative measurement of CO2 without the waveform.
Capnometry
_________________ causes retention of CO2, leading to respiratory acidosis.
Hypoventilation
The American Geriatrics Society has estimated more than _________ of all EMS calls are in response to an older adult patient.
one third
____________ is the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of medications.
Pharmacokinetics
__________ is an excessive amount of weight relative to height.
Obesity
Maternal physiology changes as early as the _________ trimester of pregnancy.
first
A thorough ___________ ensures appropriate interventions and better patient outcomes.
patient assessment
______________ is especially important in situations such as suicide attempts, drug overdoes, and cases of domestic assault.
Empathy
Explain to the patient how the benefits of the ______________ outweigh the risks.
intervention
Look for ____________________ behaviors (cues), such as facial affect and body positioning, indicating whether the patient feels at ease.
nonverbal
A significant number of illnesses and injuries can be ruled out quickly by just determining the __________________.
chief complaint
One’s clinical decision making skills become more and more reliable with ________________.
experience
The presence or absence of pertinent _________________________ associated with the initial presentation is equally important.
signs or symptoms
____________________ protect not only the healthcare providers, but also patients by ensuring healthcare personnel do not carry infectious agents from patient to patient on their hands or transmit them via equipment used during patient care.
Standard Precautions
_____________________ are conditions and complaints recognized by medical providers as key concerns.
Cardina presentations
The RAS is located in the _______________ and is responsible for maintenance of consciousness, specifically a person’s level of arousal.
upper brainstem
If a mechanical means is required to keep the airway open and patent, you must choose an _______________________.
airway adjunct
Respiratory Distress can result from ______________, a condition in which too little oxygen is available to the body’s tissues.
hypoxia
An elevated level or carbon dioxide in the blood caused by hypoventilation is called __________________.
hypercarbia
________ exchange is the critical issue, not the number of breaths.
Air
A ______ pulse may indicate poor perfusion.
weak
A _____________ pulse may indicate increased pulse pressures.
bounding
Decorticate posturing may progress to _______________, a grave sign indicating significant brain injury.
decerebrate
Activation of ____________ pain fibers is the root cause of both chronic and acute pain.
nociceptive
In awake and alert patients not no cognitive defects, it is appropriate to ask ___________ questions, when asking how they are feeling.
open-ended
A description of past _____________, especially recent ones, is important historical information to obtain.
surgeries
If the patient has anything but dry, pink, warm skin, you should look for the cause of altered ______________.
perfusion
The ________________________ of a patient in the prehospital setting is the most important skill a healthcare provider can master.
physical examination
The trachea should be observed and potentially palpated to be _____________.
midline
_____________________ is the use of a stethoscope or just your ears to evaluate the sounds the body makes.
Auscultation
______________ lung sounds are auscultated over the anterior and posterior part of the chest. Normally these are soft, low-pitched sounds heard over healthy lung tissue.
Vesicular
_______________________ sounds are auscultated over the main bronchi. These sounds are lower than the vesicular sounds and have a medium pitch.
Bronchovesicular
___________ sounds are heard over the trachea, near the manubrium of the sternum. They are typically high pitched.
Bronchial
sandpaper-like sound is an indication the visceral and parietal pleura are rubbing together. This sign is called _________ and is associated with pulmonary diseases such as pleurisy.
friction rub
__________________ lung sounds are audible sounds, heard over the normal, nearly inaudible sound of breathing.
Adventitious
Additional heart sounds that occur in the presence of ventricular disease are called ____________.
gallops
A normal bowel makes a ___________ noise and sounds the same in each quadrant.
gurgling
_______________ is physical touching for the purpose of obtaining information, such as when you feel for a pulse.
Palpation
abdominal ___________ is a sign of a life threat, such as internal bleeding.
rigidity
_____________ entails gently striking the surface of the body, typically where it overlies various body cavities.
Percussion
The full-body physical exam is a __________________________ head-to-toe physical examination.
systematic
__________ sign is bruising behind the ears.
Battles
This condition is characterized by pupils that are noticeably unequal in size.
Anisocoria
The ________________ is the pathway by which the spinal cord makes its way out of the brain and into the torso.
cervical spine
_________ is the single most reliable indicator of a spine injury or spinal cord injury.
Pain
One of the most challenging complaints for you to assess in the field setting is _________________.
abdominal pain
____________ is an unsteady gait that can indicate damage from toxicity or chronic neurologic dysfunction.
Ataxia
_____________ are stretch reflexes, requiring the muscles being tested to be relaxed and the tendons gently stretched.
Deep tendon relfexes
_______________________ is an indication of how many hemoglobin-binding sites in the blood are occupied by oxygen molecules relative to the number available.
Oxygen saturation
_______________ is used to monitor carbon dioxide levels in exhaled gases, or end-tidal carbon dioxide.
Capnography
A colorimetric capnometer is a device with _________ that changes color in response to pH.
Litmus Paper
Most older adults take 3-5 prescription medications, which is referred to as _______________.
polypharmacy
____________ is a chronic disease and is the second leading cause of preventable death in the US (behind tobacco use)
Obesity
In the early stages of pregnancy, usually the fifth to tenth weeks, abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding, and signs of shock can indicate __________________.
ectopic pregnancy
Your gestures, body movements, and attitude toward the Patient are critically important in gaining the _________ of each patient and his or her family.
trust
Your _____________ should reassure patients you are there to help.
nonverbal language
So-called “tunnel vision”can be attributed to the well-known ___________________.
cognitive bias
Cognitive scientists have defined two systems that manage our processing of information:___________ and ______________
intuitive
analytic
____________________ occurs when the body cannot rid itself of carbon dioxide, causing it to build up in the bloodstream, leading to respiratory failure.
Hypercarbia
The combination of abnormal breath sounds and __________________ or retraction is a more ominous sign that abnormal breath sounds alone.
accessory muscle use
A ___________ chest can indicate underlying COPD such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis.
barrel
If deep breathing causes pain, the patient may have underlying __________________ or a ___________________.
pleurisy
pulmonary embolism
Palpate the trachea for proper midline positioning deviation can be a lie sign of ___________________.
pneumothorax
______________ can signal pulmonary congestion from ventricular heart failure.
Rales
Pinpoint pupils can suggest opiate abuse or injury to the ____________.
pons
Pupils appearing unequal in shape and size may also suggest _______________.
glaucoma
Upper motor neuron lesions, such as the brain or spinal cord, typically lead to _________________
hyperreflexia
Peripheral nerve lesions such as with Guillain-Barre syndrome, cause _______________.
hyporeflexia
The _____________ Test may be used to check for neurologic function in conscious patients and it patients with altered mental status.
Babinski
You will perform the rapid exam on trauma patients to obtain a quick _______________ second impression on a patient’s’ injuries.
60 - 90
_____________ meters measure peak expiratory flow rate, or the rate at which a patient can breath out.
Peak Flow
An ________ records the electrical activity of the atrial and ventricular cells of the heart and represents this activity as specific waveforms and complexes.
ECG
The _________________ of the thoracic spine that often occurs with advancing age can make expanding the lungs more difficult.
Kyphosis
Pregnant patients in the fifth to tenth weeks should be assessed for pregnancy-induced __________________ and gestational diabetes.
hypertension
As altitude increases, the amount of _________________ in the helicopter decreases as fresh air from the outside is drawn into the cabin.
moisture
