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10 free EMT practice questions: Equipment Readiness & Ambulance Check

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

Work through all 10, then move on to the next topic. When you want the full picture, the free EMT diagnostic covers every topic in one sitting. No account needed for any of it.

Question 1 of 10

During transport from an industrial site, a patient begins vomiting and is positioned on their side. Vomit remains in the mouth, and the portable suction unit does not run when the EMT switches it on. What should the EMT do next?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Use the suction unit mounted in the patient compartment

The portable suction unit will not turn on, and vomit is still sitting in the patient's mouth. Vomit in the back of the throat can be breathed into the lungs within seconds. Aspiration drops the patient's oxygen level and can lead to aspiration pneumonia later. Every ambulance has a suction unit mounted in the patient compartment. The mounted unit is a second, separate source of suction, there for exactly this kind of portable failure. Right now you need suction that works. Fixing the portable unit can wait. Switch to the mounted unit and clear the airway. After the call, tag the portable unit out of service for the mechanic.

Why the others are wrong

Change the battery in the portable unit and try it again: B does not work because the vomit stays in the mouth while you swap the battery. A mounted suction unit is already in the compartment with you and runs right now. Fixing the portable unit can wait until after the call.

Clear the mouth with a gloved finger sweep: A gloved finger sweep is for a solid object you can see in the mouth. The vomit in this patient's mouth is liquid. A finger only pushes liquid around or further back, which makes aspiration more likely. Suction is the tool for liquid in the airway.

Ask the driver to stop so the portable unit can be checked: The mounted unit runs while the ambulance is moving, so there is no reason to stop. Stopping only delays clearing the vomit out of this patient's mouth, and checking the portable unit does nothing for the airway right now.

Question 2 of 10

An EMT is transporting a 4-year-old patient with a minor forearm injury from a daycare center. A parent is riding in the patient compartment and asks to hold the patient for the ride. What is the appropriate action?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Secure the patient and belt the parent into a seat

Secure the child on the cot and belt the parent into a seat. Everyone in a moving ambulance needs their own restraint. An unrestrained person becomes a projectile in a crash and hurts the people around them. A child held in an adult's arms gets crushed between the adult and the inside of the ambulance. No adult can keep hold of a child at crash forces, no matter how firm the grip. The child goes in a size-appropriate child restraint on the cot. The parent goes in a seat built for passengers, with the seat belt on. The parent can comfort the child by talking and touching from the belted seat.

Why the others are wrong

Let the parent hold the patient on the bench seat: Holding the child on the bench seat is what the parent asked for. In a collision, the child gets crushed between the parent and the inside of the ambulance, and the parent cannot keep hold.

Belt the parent and the patient together on the stretcher: Belting the parent and the child together on the stretcher still leaves the child without a proper restraint. Adult straps are not spaced or shaped to fit a small child's body.

Seat the parent beside the stretcher without a belt: Sitting beside the stretcher without a belt leaves the parent unrestrained. An unrestrained parent becomes a projectile in a collision and can hurt everyone in the patient compartment.

Question 3 of 10

An EMT is checking the airway equipment carried on the ambulance at 1900. The battery-powered portable suction unit runs and holds a charge. Which additional device allows suctioning to continue if that unit loses power during a call?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · A manually operated suction device

A manually operated suction device keeps suction going if the battery unit dies. Suction has no workaround when the equipment quits. That is why ambulances carry a hand-powered suction unit that needs no battery and no power from the vehicle. Check that the manual unit is there and working during the same equipment check as the powered unit. A manual unit makes its own vacuum by hand. The other options are parts that only carry or direct the suction.

Why the others are wrong

A rigid pharyngeal suction tip: the end of the suction system that goes in the mouth. The tip does not make any vacuum by itself. With no power source behind it, the tip is useless.

A large-bore suction catheter: also just a part that carries the suction. The catheter needs a working powered or manual unit behind it.

A spare collection canister and tubing: Spare tubing and a collection canister carry and hold what you suction out. Neither one makes suction if the powered unit loses power.

Question 4 of 10

An EMT is checking equipment before a shift assigned to a youth soccer tournament. The unit may need to transport a 3-year-old patient who does not require the stretcher. Which equipment allows that patient to be transported safely in the patient compartment?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · A size-appropriate child passenger restraint

A 3-year-old who does not need the stretcher rides in a size-appropriate child passenger restraint. A child passenger restraint is built and tested for a child's size and weight. The ambulance has to carry one before it can transport a child who is not on the stretcher. Adult straps are spaced and shaped for an adult torso. A small child can move around inside adult straps, and crash forces land in the wrong places on the child's body. Checking for the child restraint is part of the equipment check before the shift. You cannot make one up on scene.

Why the others are wrong

The stretcher straps tightened across the child: Stretcher straps are the right restraint for a patient on the stretcher. This child does not need the stretcher, and the straps are spaced and shaped for an adult torso. Tightened across a 3-year-old, the straps still leave the child room to move during a crash.

A caregiver holding the child on the bench seat: A caregiver's arms give no crash protection at all. In a collision, the child can be crushed between the caregiver and the inside of the ambulance.

A pediatric backboard strapped to the bench seat: Strapping a pediatric backboard to the bench seat is improvising. A backboard is not a child passenger restraint, and the backboard was not designed or tested to hold a child in place during transport.

Question 5 of 10

An ambulance returns from a refit with its cabinets rearranged, and an EMT is restowing equipment before the unit goes in service. The portable suction unit, the spare oropharyngeal airways, the blood pressure cuffs, and the bleeding control dressings all have to be put away. The attendant seat is at the head of the primary stretcher. The cabinet at the head of the stretcher and the cabinet beside the stretcher each hold two of the four items. Which arrangement is most appropriate?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Suction unit and airways at the head; blood pressure cuffs and dressings at the side

The suction unit and the airways go at the head of the stretcher. The blood pressure cuffs and the dressings go at the side. Equipment is stowed by how urgently and how often you use it. Airway, ventilation, and oxygen equipment is packed together within easy reach of the head of the stretcher. The attendant seat is at the head, and you sit there to manage an airway. The suction unit and the oropharyngeal airways are both airway equipment. Cardiac care, bleeding control, and blood pressure checks are done from the side of the stretcher. Those items go in the cabinet beside the stretcher. Keep each group together. During a call, you do not want to pull pieces of one intervention out of two cabinets.

Why the others are wrong

Blood pressure cuffs and dressings at the head; suction unit and airways at the side: The head of the stretcher is the easiest space to reach, so it looks like the spot for the most important items. Bleeding control and blood pressure checks are done from the side of the patient. This arrangement puts the suction unit and airways out of reach of the seat where you manage the airway.

Suction unit and dressings at the head; airways and blood pressure cuffs at the side: Suction at the head is right. Moving the airways to the side splits up the airway group. Airway equipment is packed together so you are not grabbing parts of one intervention from two places.

Airways and blood pressure cuffs at the head; suction unit and dressings at the side: A suction unit is heavy, so a low cabinet at the side can look like the better spot for it. Moving the suction unit splits up the same airway group that option B splits. You would be reaching away from the attendant seat for suction, and suction is the item you most often need without warning.

Question 6 of 10

After transferring a patient at the hospital, an EMT prepares the ambulance for the next call. Dried vomit covers part of the stretcher rail and the floor beside it. The used linens have been stripped and bagged, and the crew has soap and water and a germicidal solution registered with the Environmental Protection Agency on the unit. Which action is most appropriate?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Wash the areas with soap and water, then apply the germicidal solution

Clean first, then disinfect. Cleaning and disinfection are two different steps, and the order matters. Cleaning removes dirt, blood, vomit, and other visible contamination from a surface. Disinfection kills germs by putting a chemical made for that purpose on the surface. The chemical only works on a surface that is already clean. Dried vomit left in place shields the surface from the germicidal solution. Wash the stretcher rail and the floor with soap and water first. Once the vomit is gone, apply the germicidal solution to the clean surface.

Why the others are wrong

Apply the germicidal solution directly to the dried vomit: Germicidal solution is the right product for disinfection. Sprayed onto dried vomit, the solution works on the vomit and never reaches the surface underneath. The surface has to be cleaned first.

Apply the germicidal solution and then wash the areas with soap and water: Both steps are here, in the wrong order. Washing after the germicidal solution goes on washes the solution away along with the dirt. The surface ends up clean but not disinfected.

Wash the areas with soap and water until no residue remains: Soap and water is the right first step. Washing alone only removes what you can see. Germs stay on the surface until the germicidal solution kills them.

Question 7 of 10

After a call for a nosebleed, an EMT is disposing of the disposable equipment used in the patient compartment. A gauze dressing is soaked with the patient's blood. The outer wrapper of that dressing was removed before the dressing was applied and is dry. An NRB was worn by the patient and is free of blood. An emesis basin was handed to the patient but was not used. Which item must be discarded in a biohazard container approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · The gauze dressing soaked with blood

The gauze dressing soaked with the patient's blood goes in the biohazard container. Disposable equipment that is bloody or has body fluids on it goes in a biohazard container approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. You sort waste by what is on the item, not by whether the item was used in patient care. The gauze is the only item with blood on it. Disposable items with no contamination on them are thrown out following OSHA and local guidelines. Most items from a call go in the regular trash.

Why the others are wrong

The NRB worn by the patient: The NRB was on the patient's face. Being close to the airway does not make an item biohazard waste. The NRB is free of blood, so nothing on it sends it to the biohazard container.

The outer wrapper from the dressing package: The outer wrapper came off the dressing before the dressing was applied. The wrapper is dry and never touched blood. The wrapper goes in the regular trash, even though the dressing inside it ended up bloody.

The emesis basin handed to the patient: The emesis basin was handed to the patient, but the patient never used it. Nothing is in the basin. An unused basin is not contaminated, so the basin does not go in the biohazard container.

Question 8 of 10

An EMT finishes the daily inspection of the ambulance and its equipment. One deficiency was found during the check and was corrected before the unit went in service. The service supplies preprinted check sheets, and the EMT has marked each line item and written a note describing the deficiency and the correction. Which action completes the inspection record?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Date and initial the sheet and file it where it can be retrieved

Date the sheet, initial it, and file it where it can be found later. The inspection record proves the check was done. The record also has to be easy to pull later if anyone needs that proof. The date ties the check to a specific shift. Your initials show who did the check. Filing the sheet where it can be found keeps the record after the shift ends. A sheet missing any of those three is incomplete. Telling a supervisor about the deficiency is reasonable. A verbal report is a separate step, and it does not replace the dated, initialed, filed sheet.

Why the others are wrong

Date the sheet and leave it in the vehicle binder for the next crew: A date is part of a complete record. Nothing on this sheet shows who did the check. Leaving the sheet loose in the vehicle binder is not the same as filing it where it can be found later.

Initial the sheet and hand it to the crew coming on the next shift: Initials show who did the check. Without a date, the record is not tied to any shift. A sheet passed from crew to crew instead of filed is the sheet nobody can find when it is needed.

Date the sheet and report the corrected deficiency to the supervisor: Reporting the corrected deficiency to a supervisor is reasonable. Reporting is a separate duty from documenting the inspection. The sheet is still not initialed or filed, so the check itself is not documented.

Question 9 of 10

An EMT is placing a full spare oxygen cylinder into service on the ambulance. The plastic seal has been removed from the valve stem, the opening has been inspected and is free of debris, and the sealing washer is in place on the regulator collar. Which action comes next?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Open the valve briefly and close it before attaching the regulator

Crack the cylinder before you attach the regulator. Cracking means you open the valve slowly and then close it again. The short burst of oxygen blows dirt and other contaminants out of the valve opening, so they do not get into the oxygen flow. The first step is already done here. The plastic seal is off, and the opening is inspected and clear. Point the cylinder away from yourself and everyone else when you crack it. After that, put the regulator on the valve. Line up the oxygen port and the pins with the holes, and hand tighten the regulator. Then open the cylinder fully to check for leaks and read the pressure. Cracking is a clearing step, and that is why the order matters. Gas run after the regulator is on carries debris into the regulator instead of out of the valve.

Why the others are wrong

Attach the regulator, then open the valve briefly and close it: Opening the valve with the regulator on is how you check for leaks. Cracking clears debris out of the valve before anything is attached. A brief opening after the regulator is on pushes that debris into the regulator.

Attach the regulator and open the valve fully to read the gauge: Opening the cylinder fully and reading the gauge is a real step. Reading the pressure comes later, after the regulator is firmly attached. Reading the gauge does not replace cracking the cylinder first.

Attach the regulator and open the flowmeter to clear the opening: Running oxygen out through the flowmeter sounds like it would flush out debris. Once the regulator is on, any gas leaving the flowmeter has already gone through the regulator. Debris from the valve opening ends up inside your equipment instead of out of it.

Question 10 of 10

During the shift check, an EMT inventories the weatherproof compartment that opens from the outside of the ambulance. It holds a dry chemical fire extinguisher, two rechargeable high-intensity flashlights, hard hats with face shields, and a box of road flares. The unit's response area includes a highway where crashes often involve spilled fuel. Which action is most appropriate?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Add reflective or intermittently flashing warning devices

The outside compartment holds the gear you need to protect the patient and the crew, control traffic and bystanders, and light up the work area. Right now the only warning device in it is a box of road flares. Road flares work by burning. A burning flare can set spilled fuel or gas on fire. This unit runs a highway where crashes often spill fuel. Reflective or intermittently flashing warning devices warn traffic without a flame. That is why you add them to the compartment.

Why the others are wrong

Add a second box of road flares to the compartment: A second box of flares would make sense if the compartment were running low on flares. The problem here is that flares can ignite the spilled fuel this unit sees on the highway. More flares put more flame at exactly those scenes.

Add a second fire extinguisher beside the flares: A fire extinguisher helps once a fire has already started. A second extinguisher does nothing about the missing warning devices. The better move is a warning device that cannot start the fire in the first place.

Move the flares into the patient compartment cabinet: Moving the flares into the patient compartment leaves the outside compartment with no warning device at all. Flares are used at the roadway, so they need to be reachable from outside the ambulance.

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