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10 free AEMT practice questions: Multiple Casualty Incidents, Triage, and Incident Command

These are real questions from the same bank the app draws from. Each one is written to the NREMT AEMT content specifications and kept inside the AEMT scope of practice. Pick an answer and you get the full rationale, including why the other three options are wrong.

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Question 1 of 10

An AEMT responds to a motorcycle collision on a rural two-lane road at dusk. A 34-year-old patient is lying on the shoulder, is alert, and reports pain in a deformed lower leg. There is no bleeding. A second helmet is lying in the grass about 30 feet from the motorcycle. What should the AEMT do next?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Search the area around the scene for another patient

Search the area for another patient. A second helmet is lying in the grass about 30 feet from the motorcycle. The second helmet tells you someone else was on the motorcycle. A passenger thrown clear can be out of sight in the grass or in a ditch. Counting your patients is part of the scene size-up. You finish the count before you commit to one patient. The number of patients decides how many ambulances and crews you need to call. The patient you found is alert, with a deformed lower leg and no bleeding. Nothing is lost by searching the scene first.

Why the others are wrong

Begin splinting the deformed lower leg: Splinting the deformed leg is care this patient will need. Splinting now commits you to one patient before the size-up is done. A second patient could be down in the grass, and nobody has found them yet.

Ask the patient how fast the motorcycle was traveling: How fast the motorcycle was going is useful history. The speed does not tell you how many patients are on this scene, and the extra helmet says there may be another one.

Move the patient to the ambulance for assessment: Moving the patient to the ambulance puts your crew on one patient. You still have not found out who was wearing the second helmet. Find that person first.

Question 2 of 10

An AEMT is performing initial triage with the JumpSTART system after a deck collapse at a community park. A 4-year-old patient is not breathing. A distal pulse is palpable. The AEMT opens the airway with a manual maneuver, and the patient still does not breathe. What should the AEMT do?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Give five rescue breaths and reassess breathing

Give five rescue breaths and then check breathing again. This 4-year-old is not breathing but has a distal pulse. Opening the airway with a manual maneuver did not start the breathing. In children, cardiac arrest usually starts as a breathing problem. A pulse that is still there means the heart is still sending blood to the brain. Only the breathing has stopped. JumpSTART is the version of START (Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment) built for children. In JumpSTART, a child with a pulse and no breathing gets five rescue breaths before any tag goes on. If breathing comes back, the child is immediate. If breathing does not come back, the child is expectant, and you move on.

Why the others are wrong

Begin chest compressions and reassess the pulse: Chest compressions are for a child who is not breathing and has no pulse. This child has a distal pulse. With a pulse present, JumpSTART calls for rescue breaths first, not CPR.

Tag the patient expectant and move on: In adult START, a patient who still does not breathe after the airway is opened gets tagged expectant right away. JumpSTART changes that rule for children. This child has a pulse, so five rescue breaths come first. Only a child who still is not breathing after those breaths gets the expectant tag.

Ventilate the patient until breathing returns: Breathing for the patient until breathing returns is patient care after triage is over. JumpSTART stops at five breaths. After the five breaths, you decide immediate or expectant and keep moving through the triage. Staying with one patient leaves everyone else unsorted.

Question 3 of 10

An AEMT is performing triage after a stage collapse at an outdoor concert. No patient is pinned, and additional ambulances are arriving. A large crowd is pressing in around the patients, and bystanders are picking up injured people and carrying them away before they can be triaged. Which resource should the AEMT request?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Law enforcement for crowd control

You need law enforcement for crowd control. Bystanders are picking up injured people and carrying them away before they can be triaged. Triage only works if the patients stay where you can sort them. A patient carried off unsorted could be the one who needed care first. Once the crowd carries a patient off, nobody on scene knows where that patient is or how sick they are. Every patient the crowd moves throws off your count. Crowd control is a law enforcement job. Request law enforcement as soon as you see the crowd moving patients, before more of the sort is lost.

Why the others are wrong

The fire department for scene lighting: Scene lighting helps when the scene is too dark to work. The problem here is a crowd moving patients, not a lack of light.

A rescue crew to secure the stage structure: A rescue crew secures a structure when a patient is pinned or trapped by it. No patient here is pinned. The stage is not what is getting in the way of triage.

A supervisor to coordinate transport: A supervisor can coordinate transport once the patients are sorted. Bystanders are taking patients away before you can sort them. Only law enforcement can stop the crowd from carrying patients off.

Question 4 of 10

An AEMT is performing initial triage with the JumpSTART system at an elementary school where a ceiling section fell during class. A 7-year-old patient cannot walk. The respirations are 30, no peripheral pulse can be felt at the wrist, and the patient answers questions and follows commands. Which triage category should the AEMT assign?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Immediate (red)

This child is immediate (red). No peripheral pulse can be felt at the wrist. JumpSTART is the version of START used for children. JumpSTART checks walking first, then breathing rate, then peripheral pulse, then mental status. The first check the child fails sets the tag. This child cannot walk, so you move to breathing. A respiratory rate of 30 is inside the acceptable range of 15 to 45, so you move to the pulse. No pulse at the wrist means blood flow out to the arms is poor. An absent peripheral pulse is a sign of shock. Children hold up well in shock and then get worse fast. Tag this child red, even though the child is answering questions.

Why the others are wrong

Minor (green): for a child who can get up and walk to the designated area. This child cannot walk, so green is ruled out at the very first check.

Delayed (yellow): for a child who cannot walk but passes the breathing, pulse, and mental status checks. This child has no radial pulse. The child fails the pulse check before mental status is ever checked, so JumpSTART assigns immediate.

Expectant (black): for a child who is not breathing and has no pulse, or who stays apneic after the rescue breaths. This child is breathing at 30 and answering questions.

Question 5 of 10

The AEMT responds to a motor-vehicle collision on a steep hillside where one vehicle has left the road and is perched on the edge of a 40-foot ravine, partially off the embankment. The patient appears conscious and alert but is unable to safely exit the vehicle. What is the AEMT's best course of action?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Request technical rescue/rope rescue team, establish scene safety, and stage at a safe location uphill

Request a technical rescue or rope rescue team, make the scene safe, and stage uphill. The vehicle is perched on the edge of a 40-foot ravine and is partly off the embankment. The patient cannot get out safely on their own. Any added weight or force can send the vehicle over the edge. A person climbing out, a person climbing onto the slope, or a line pulling on the frame can each be enough. A technical rescue team brings load-rated rope systems and training in vehicle stabilization. The team can get the patient out without putting more force on the vehicle. Your job is scene safety and staying uphill until the team gets there. Then you help with the extrication from a safe spot.

Why the others are wrong

Rappel down to the vehicle using climbing gear from the ambulance to reach the patient: Rappelling is a skill for a trained rope rescue technician with rated rope, anchors, and a belay system. Gear from the ambulance is not rated rope rescue gear, and an AEMT does not have rope rescue training. Climbing onto the slope above the vehicle adds the exact force that can push the vehicle into the ravine.

Use the ambulance winch to pull the vehicle back onto the road while the patient remains inside: A tow operator winches a vehicle back onto the road after the scene is clear and nobody is inside. This patient is still inside, and the vehicle sits on the edge. Pulling on the frame can send the vehicle over with the patient in it.

Coach the patient to carefully exit the vehicle and climb back up the hillside while you stabilize with hand holds: Coaching a patient out works when the patient can move safely and the ground is stable. Neither is true here. The patient cannot get out safely, and the ground is a steep hillside above a 40-foot drop. Bracing the patient with your hands only puts you on the same slope with nothing anchoring you.

Question 6 of 10

An AEMT responds to a call at a residential address and finds a 32-year-old patient sitting in the front yard with a laceration to the forehead. The patient states, 'I fell,' but the injury pattern suggests blunt force trauma. Shouting and the sound of breaking glass are coming from inside the house. What is the AEMT's immediate priority?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Stage at a safe distance, notify dispatch of the scene hazard, and request police to secure the scene before providing care

Stage at a safe distance, tell dispatch about the hazard, and request police. You hear shouting and breaking glass inside the house. The patient says, "I fell," but the forehead injury looks like blunt force trauma. A fall does not explain the injury, and the noise tells you violence is still going on inside. An unsecured violent scene can injure or trap you before you even start an assessment. Scene size-up means you confirm the scene is safe before patient contact. Wait at a safe distance until police secure the scene and tell you it is safe to approach.

Why the others are wrong

Enter the house to assess the full scene and determine if other patients require assistance: Going inside to look for more patients fits a safe scene where the injury does not match the story. Here the shouting and breaking glass tell you there is active violence in the house. Walking in puts you in the middle of the violence with no way out.

Quickly assess and transport the patient to the hospital before the situation inside escalates further: Quick transport is right for an unstable patient who needs to load and go. Loading this patient still keeps you next to a violent house that nobody has secured. The hazard has to be handled first, by backing off and calling police.

Provide full assessment and treatment from inside the ambulance while monitoring the house until police arrive: Treating from the ambulance sounds careful. The ambulance is still parked next to an active hazard. Pull back to a safe distance and let police secure the scene before you start care.

Question 7 of 10

An AEMT is the first provider to arrive at a warehouse floor collapse involving about 20 patients. No other EMS personnel are on scene, additional units are 8 minutes away, the remaining floor structure is unstable, and the ambulance is parked in the only clear driveway. The AEMT calls out for anyone who is able to walk. Where should the AEMT direct these patients to gather?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · To an easily identified landmark away from the ambulance

The walking patients need to gather away from the ambulance, because your ambulance is parked in the only clear driveway. The rest of the floor is unstable, and the next units are 8 minutes away. START, which stands for Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment, begins by calling out for everyone who can walk. You send those patients to a landmark that is easy to find and away from the ambulance. A landmark away from the ambulance keeps the walking patients out of the only route in and out. You can still move through the scene to triage the patients who cannot walk. The units on the way can still get in when they arrive.

Why the others are wrong

To the ambulance, where a running count can be kept: The ambulance is an obvious place to gather, and it makes counting heads easy. This ambulance is sitting in the only clear driveway. Sending the walking patients to the ambulance blocks the one route you and the arriving crews need to reach the patients who cannot walk.

To the treatment area once it has been established: Patients do go to a treatment area once one is set up. No other EMS crews are on scene yet, so there is no treatment area. Sorting the walking patients comes first, before anyone can set up a treatment area.

To the nearest exit from the collapsed floor section: The nearest exit is a real way off an unstable floor. People need to move through an exit, not stand in it. A crowd of walking patients at the exit blocks the way out for other patients and for incoming crews.

Question 8 of 10

A tornado strikes a campground, and patients are found in two groups about a half mile apart with a downed tree line between them. The AEMT is the triage supervisor and has four responders available. Both groups contain patients who cannot walk. What should the AEMT do?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Establish a separate triage area and team for each group

Set up a separate triage area and team for each group. The triage division has to make sure every patient gets an initial assessment. Treatment does not start until triage is complete. When patients are far apart, an incident can need more than one triage area or team. These two groups are a half mile apart with a downed tree line between them. You have four responders. Splitting into two teams, with a triage area at each group, gets every patient assessed. Neither group waits for the other group to finish.

Why the others are wrong

Triage the larger group first, then move the team to the second: Triaging the larger group first keeps the team together and feels orderly. Every patient in the second group goes unassessed for as long as the first group takes. The second group includes patients who cannot walk.

Consolidate the two groups into one area before triage: Pulling both groups into one area sounds like it makes the scene easier to manage and count. Moving patients is not part of primary triage. Each patient who cannot walk would need people to carry them before anyone got assessed.

Count the patients in each group before beginning triage: Command does ask for a patient count first. A head count alone does not tell command how many patients are in each category. The count by category is the number command uses for the resource request.

Question 9 of 10

During primary triage after an apartment fire, the AEMT reaches a patient who did not walk to the collection area because of pain from partial-thickness burns to one lower leg. There is no soot around the mouth or nose, the voice is clear, and the breathing is unlabored. The patient has R 20, a palpable radial pulse, and follows simple commands. What should the AEMT do?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Tag the patient delayed and move to the next patient

This patient is delayed. The patient did not walk to the minimal area, so you go to the next three checks in START, Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment. The respirations are 20, the radial pulse is palpable, and the patient follows simple commands. Respirations under 30 mean the patient is breathing adequately. A radial pulse means blood flow is reaching the wrist. Following commands means the mental status is intact. All three checks pass. The only problem left is the leg burn and the pain that kept the patient from walking. A patient who cannot walk but passes all three checks goes in delayed. Tag the patient delayed and move to the next patient without stopping to treat. Primary triage has to reach every patient before care starts.

Why the others are wrong

Tag the patient immediate and move to the next patient: Immediate fits a burn that is severe or that threatens the airway. This airway is clear. There is no soot around the mouth or nose, the voice is clear, and the breathing is unlabored. The burn is only on one lower leg. Respirations of 20 and a radial pulse keep this patient at delayed, not immediate.

Direct the patient to the collection area for minimal patients: Minimal is for the walking wounded who get themselves to that area. This patient stayed put because of the leg pain. The first START check is whether the patient walked. A patient who did not walk never goes to minimal, no matter how minor the burn looks.

Give positive pressure ventilations and tag the patient immediate: Positive pressure ventilation is for a patient who is not breathing, or not breathing adequately. A breathing failure like that is what earns an immediate tag, not the burn. Respirations of 20, a clear voice, and no soot around the mouth or nose show this patient's breathing is intact. Ventilating this patient wastes time primary triage needs for the rest of the scene.

Question 10 of 10

Lightning strikes a soccer field during a game. Three patients are dazed, are walking, and answer questions appropriately. A fourth patient is unresponsive, is not breathing, and has no pulse. Two AEMTs and one ambulance are on scene, and a second ambulance is 6 minutes away. What should the AEMTs do?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Begin resuscitation of the patient who is not breathing

Start resuscitation on the patient who is not breathing. When a lightning strike hits several people, you use reverse triage. In normal triage, a patient who is not breathing and has no pulse is tagged expectant. The expectant tag saves limited resources for patients who can be saved. After a lightning strike, the arrest is usually a primary cardiac or respiratory arrest in a person who is otherwise not injured. Those patients are treated first. The other three patients are walking and answering questions appropriately. They can wait while both AEMTs resuscitate the fourth patient.

Why the others are wrong

Tag the pulseless patient expectant and triage the others: Expectant is the normal tag for a patient who is not breathing and has no pulse. A lightning strike is the named exception. After lightning, the patients in arrest are treated first.

Transport the three walking patients to the hospital first: Moving the stable patients out first sounds like the greatest good for the greatest number. That plan uses your only ambulance on three patients who are alert and answering questions. Meanwhile the one patient who can still be saved gets nothing.

Complete triage of the four patients before any treatment: Finishing triage before any treatment is the normal rule at a mass-casualty incident. Here there are four patients and two AEMTs, and three of the patients are walking and talking. The sorting is already done. Reverse triage decides what you do next.

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