CHAPTER 1 EMS SYSTEM
Recovery position – unconscious patients who have not
1. Roles and Responsibilities of EMR
a. Maintain body in healthy physical and mental state
b. Maintain equipment in a ready state
c. Respond promptly and safely to scene of accident or
sudden illness
d. Ensure the scene is safe from hazards
e. Protect yourself.
f. Protect incident scene and patients from further
harm.
g. Summon appropriate assistance (EMTs, fire
department, rescue squad).
h. Gain access to the patient.
i. Perform patient assessment.
j. Administer emergency to medical care.
k. Provide reassurance to patients and family members.
l. Move patients only when necessary.
m. Seek and then direct help from bystanders, if
necessary.
n. Control activities of bystanders.
o. Assist EMTs and paramedics, as necessary.
p. Maintain continuity of patient care.
q. Document your care.
r. Keep your knowledge and skills up to date.
2. Medical Director (aka physician) – overall leader of ther medical
care team
a. Indirect (offline) medical control – a EMS agency has a
physician who directs training courses, helps set
medical policies and procedures, and courses, helps
set medical policies and procedures, and ensures
quality management of the EMS system
b. Direct (online) medical control – physician who is
contact with prehospital EMS prehospital EMS
providers, usually paramedics or EMTs, by two-way
radio or wireless telephone
CHAPTER 2 WORKFORE SAFETY AND WELLNESS
1. Infectious Diseases
a. Blood-borne disease
i. HIV – infected blood, semen, or vaginal
secretions
ii. Hepatitis B & C – direct contact with infected
blood
iii. Meningitis
iv. Syphilis
b. Airborne Pathogens
i. Tuberculosis (TB) – contagious disease that
is spread by droplets from the respiratory
system
ii. Influenza (H1N1)
iii. Whooping cough
iv. SARS
c. Direct Contact
i. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA)
ii. Ebola
CHAPTER 3 LIFTING AND MOVING PATIENTS
1.
sustained suspected trauma to help keep the airway open and
also allows secretions to drain from the mouth
2. EMERGENCY MOVEMENT OF THE PATIENT
a. Danger of fire, explosion, or structural collapse
b. Hazardous material is present and can cause the scene
to become unsafe
c. Emergency scene cannot be protected
d. Impossible to access to gain access to other patients
who need lifesaving care
e. Patient has experienced cardiac arrest and must be
moved so you can begin CPR
CHAPTER 4 MEDICAL, LEGAL, AND ETHICAL ISSUES
1. CONSENT – giving approval or permission
a. Expressed consent – patient actually lets you know
(verbally or nonverbally) that he is willing to accept
the treatment you provide
i. Must be over the legal age
b. Implied consent – an unconscious patient is unable to
communicate so under the law it assumes the patients
would agree to treatment
c. Consent for Minors – needs parent approval but do
not delay treatment or withhold emergency medical
treatment for minor just to obtain permission from a
parent or legal guardian
2. Competent – adult who is conscious, alert, and mentally in
control
3. Advance Directives – document that specifies what a person
would like to do be done if the person becomes unable to make
his/her own medical decision
a. Living will – document drawn up by patient, physician,
and lawyer states the types of medical care a person
wants or withheld if the person is unable to make his
own treatment decision
b. Durable power of attorney for health care (medical
power of attorney) – designated another person to
make decisions about medical care for the patient if
he or she is unable to make decisions for himself or
herself
c. Do not resuscitated (DNR) – written request giving
permission to medical personnel to withhold
resuscitation in the event of cardiac arrest
4. Legal Concepts
a. Abandonment – trained person begins emergency
medical care and leaves the patient before another
trained person arrives to take over
b. Generally, you do not assume a person is dead unless:
i. Decapitation
ii. Rigor mortis
iii. Tissue decomposition
iv. Dependent lividity – red or purple color that
occurs on the parts of the patient’s body
that are closest to the ground
c. Negligence – failure of medical care provider at any
level to meet the required standard of care in his or
her treatment of a patient
i. Duty to Act – provide care within level of
training and certification
ii. Breach of Duty – failure to provide care
 iii. Resulting injuries – your action resulted in i. Introduce Yourself
the injuries ii. Ask the Patient’s Name and use it
iv. Proximate cause – you are directly iii. Make and keep eye contact
responsible for the injuries iv. Use language the patient can understand
d. Confidentiality – most patient information v. Speak slowly and clearly
i. HIPPA – guidance on what information is vi. Tell the truth
protected vii. Allow time for the Patient to respond
5. Good Samaritan Laws – protect citizens from liability for errors viii. Limit the number of people talking with the
or omission in giving good faith emergency medical care patient
ix. Be aware of your body language
CHAPTER 5 COMMUNICATIONS AND DOCUMENTATIONS
CHAPTER 6 THE HUMAN BODY
Data and Communications Systems
Topographic Anatomy
1. Radio Communications – regulated by the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) 1. Anterior – front
a. Channel – an assigned frequency or frequencies used 2. Posterior – back
to carry voice and/or data communications 3. Midline – imaginary vertical line drawn from head to toe that
b. Trunked communications systems – a computer- divides the body into equal left and right side
controlled radio systems that allows the sharing of a 4. Medial – closer to the midline of the body
few radio frequencies among a large group of users 5. Distal – farther to the midline of the body
c. Base station – a powerful two-way radio that is 6. Proximal – close
located in a fixed place and attached to one or more 7. Distal – distant
antennas 8. Superior – closer to the head
d. Mobile radio – mounted in a vehicle, such as a fire 9. Inferior – closer to the feet
truck, and draws electricity from the electrical system
of the vehicle Body Systems
e. Portable radio – handheld, self-contained unit that RESPIRATORY SYSTEM – bring O2 into the body and remove waste gas,
includes a two-way radio with a battery, a built-in CO2.
microphone, and a built-in antenna
f. Repeater – device that receives as weak radio signal, 1. Nose (nasopharynx)  Mouth (oropharynx)  Throat  Larynx
strengthens that signal, and then automatically (voice box)  Trachea (windpipe)  Bronchi  Bronchioles 
rebroadcasts it Alveoli  Capillaries
2. Data Systems 2. Epiglottis – small flap of tissue at the upper end of the larynx ;
a. Paging systems – transits text messages and voice keeps food from entering the larynx
communications (alert members to emergency 3. Diaphragm – a large muscle that forms the bottom og the chest
incident) cavity and movies downwa
b. Mobile data terminal (MDT) – transmits data
messages through a radio system and frequently
incorporated into a mobile radio system
c. Fax machine – send written data or images over a
phone or radio system
d. Telemetry – process used by advanced life support
providers to transmit electrocardiograms and other
patient data to online medical control
e. Digital messages – technology that includes email, text
messages, and social media, which are increasingly
used by EMRs to send and receive information within
public safety agencies
3. Phases of the EMS call
a. Dispatch
b. Response to the scene
c. Arrival at the scene
d. Updating responding EMS units
e. Transfer of patient care to other EMS personnel
f. Post-run Activities
4. Verbal Communications
a. Internal distraction – letting yourself think of personal
matter while on the scene
b. External distraction – noise and the use of electronic
devices
c. Effective Communication with Patient