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EMT — Trauma flashcards

10 of 78 cards free to study here · 9 topics · the whole deck is built into Willys

Field-scenario cards on scene size-up, X-ABCDE, bleeding control and tourniquets, shock, head and spine, chest and abdominal trauma, splinting, burns, environmental emergencies and trauma triage.

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Learn deck · part of NREMT EMT · written against: National EMS Education Standards and NREMT EMT cognitive exam; 2025 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC (resuscitation cards fact-checked 2026-10-11 against summaries of the 2025 text). Updated 2026-10-10.

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  1. You pull up to a two-car crash on a busy road. What do you do before touching any patient?
    Complete the scene size-up: confirm scene safety (traffic, fire, fuel, wires), put on PPE, count patients, call for extra resources and note the mechanism of injury.
    Scene Size-Up & Primary Survey
  2. Why does the mechanism of injury matter if the patient looks fine?
    It sets your index of suspicion for hidden injuries. A high-energy mechanism justifies a full trauma assessment and trauma-center thinking even when the patient appears stable.
    Scene Size-Up & Primary Survey
  3. What is the first step for most external bleeding that is not spurting or massive?
    Firm direct pressure with a dressing or gloved hand over the bleeding point, held steadily without peeking.
    Bleeding Control
  4. What is shock?
    Hypoperfusion: inadequate delivery of oxygenated blood to the body's tissues, leading to cell damage and organ failure if uncorrected.
    Shock
  5. A head-injured patient's blood pressure is rising, heart rate is slowing and breathing has become irregular. What is this pattern?
    Cushing's triad, a sign of rising intracranial pressure and possible brain herniation. Support ventilation and transport rapidly.
    Head & Spine
  6. A chest-trauma patient has worsening shortness of breath, absent breath sounds on one side, distended neck veins and falling blood pressure. What do you suspect?
    Tension pneumothorax — trapped air compresses the lung and pushes on the heart and great vessels. Ventilate as needed, call for ALS and transport rapidly.

    Watch out: tracheal deviation is a late sign.
    Chest & Abdominal Trauma
  7. What is the basic rule for splinting a long-bone fracture versus a joint injury?
    For a long bone, immobilize the joints above and below. For a joint, immobilize the bones above and below.
    Musculoskeletal
  8. Using the adult rule of nines, what percentages do you assign to each body region?
    Head 9, each arm 9, front of trunk 18, back of trunk 18, each leg 18, genital area 1.
    Burns
  9. Your severely hypothermic patient has stopped shivering. How should you handle them?
    Very gently, keeping them horizontal; remove wet clothing and insulate.

    Why: rough movement can trigger ventricular fibrillation in a cold heart.
    Environmental
  10. Which anatomic injuries usually send a patient directly to the highest-level trauma center available?
    Examples from the red criteria of the 2021 national field triage guideline include penetrating injury to the head, neck, torso or proximal limbs, an unstable chest wall, a suspected pelvic fracture and amputation above the wrist or ankle — per your regional triage guideline.
    Trauma Triage & Transport

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About these cards

Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.

Checked against:

  • Checked against the National EMS Education Standards (NHTSA, 2021; US government work) and the National EMS Scope of Practice Model (NHTSA, 2019; US government work).
  • Bleeding control aligned conceptually with Stop the Bleed principles; spinal motion restriction and field triage aligned conceptually with the 2018 ACS-COT / ACEP / NAEMSP joint position statement on spinal motion restriction and the 2021 National Guideline for the Field Triage of Injured Patients (reference only; no text copied).
  • Drowning resuscitation checked against the 2025 American Heart Association Guidelines for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care, Part 10: Adult and Pediatric Special Circumstances of Resuscitation (Circulation, 2025), and the Wilderness Medical Society's published summary of its Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Treatment and Prevention of Drowning: 2024 Update (reference only; no text copied).

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Not clinical guidance. These cards prepare you for an exam. Never use them to make decisions about a patient's care: follow current guidelines, prescribing information and your institution's policies. The decks contain no doses.

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