NCOEMS Practice Exam 1 2026 Exam
Questions COMPREHENSIVE
FREQUENTLY TESTED 120
QUESTIONS
Q1. You are called to assist a 60-year-old female complaining of a severe
headache. Upon entering the home, you smell a strong odor of natural gas.
What is your first action?
A. Check the patient’s airway, breathing, and circulation.
B. Insert a nasopharyngeal airway and assess vital signs.
C. Remove the patient from the house to your ambulance.
D. Open all windows and determine the source of the gas leak.
Correct Answer: C – Remove the patient from the house.
Rationale: Scene safety is the priority. You must remove the patient from
the dangerous environment before providing care.
Q2. In which situation should you call for immediate assistance?
A. You must care for two critical patients with gunshot wounds.
B. Your patient is a 26-year-old female in active labor.
C. Your patient is a child with fever who has had a brief seizure.
D. Your partner is needed to stabilize the cervical spine.
Correct Answer: A – Two critical patients with gunshot wounds.
Q3. A non-trauma patient was pulseless and apneic. Assisted ventilation
was attempted but unsuccessful. After repositioning the head, a repeat
ventilation is still unsuccessful. What is the next most appropriate step?
,A. Check for an airway obstruction.
B. Continue chest compressions only.
C. Attempt ventilations using an alternative method.
D. Continue repositioning the head.
Correct Answer: A – Check for an airway obstruction.
Q4. The purpose of the ongoing assessment is to re-evaluate the patient’s
condition and to:
A. Find any injuries missed during the initial assessment.
B. Reassure the patient that you are still caring for them.
C. Check the adequacy of each intervention performed.
D. Protect the EMT against liability.
Correct Answer: C – Check the adequacy of each intervention performed.
Q5. Which patient needs a detailed physical examination?
A. 48-year-old male with a history of heart disease who is complaining of
chest pain.
B. 35-year-old female in a single-car collision who briefly lost
consciousness.
C. 28-year-old full-term pregnant female with ruptured waters and
contractions every two minutes.
D. 32-year-old male with a minor ankle sprain.
Correct Answer: B – Patient who lost consciousness in a collision.
Q6. What is the first component of the secondary assessment in a patient
with altered mental status?
A. Vital signs
B. Focused physical exam
C. History taking (SAMPLE)
D. Pupillary assessment
,Correct Answer: C – History taking (SAMPLE).
Q7. When assessing motor function in the lower extremities of a responsive
patient, you should:
A. Ask the patient to bend their knees.
B. Ask the patient to wiggle their toes.
C. Carefully move the patient’s leg.
D. Touch the skin of the patient’s foot.
Correct Answer: B – Ask the patient to wiggle their toes.
Q8. Your patient is a 45-year-old homeless male suspected of having
hypothermia. What is the most important question to ask him?
A. Do you know who you are and where you are?
B. Are you having any trouble breathing?
C. Are you taking any prescription medications?
D. What makes the pain feel better or worse?
Correct Answer: A – Assess level of consciousness.
Q9. After opening the airway, the next step in patient management is to:
A. Insert an endotracheal tube.
B. Assess adequacy of respirations.
C. Begin mouth-to-mouth ventilation.
D. Apply bag-valve-mask ventilation.
Correct Answer: B – Assess adequacy of respirations.
Q10. You are using the OPQRST acronym to assess a responsive medical
patient. What question would you ask to assess the “P”
(Provocation/Palliation) component?
A. What were you doing when the pain started?
B. Can you describe the quality of the pain?
, C. Does anything make the pain better or worse?
D. Where is the pain located?
Correct Answer: C – Does anything make the pain better or worse?
2. Airway & Respiratory
Q11. EMTs should wear high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) respirators
when in contact with patients who have which condition?
A. HIV or AIDS
B. Tuberculosis (TB)
C. Open wounds
D. Hepatitis B
Correct Answer: B – Tuberculosis. TB is an airborne disease requiring
respiratory protection.
Q12. What is the most reliable sign of adequate artificial ventilation in an
adult?
A. Visible chest rise
B. Pulse oximetry reading
C. Gastric distention
D. Patient coughing
Correct Answer: A – Visible chest rise.
Q13. A 56-year-old male with a tracheostomy tube is in respiratory distress.
The inner cannula is clogged. What should you do?
A. Remove the inner cannula and replace it.
B. Perform a head-tilt chin-lift.
Questions COMPREHENSIVE
FREQUENTLY TESTED 120
QUESTIONS
Q1. You are called to assist a 60-year-old female complaining of a severe
headache. Upon entering the home, you smell a strong odor of natural gas.
What is your first action?
A. Check the patient’s airway, breathing, and circulation.
B. Insert a nasopharyngeal airway and assess vital signs.
C. Remove the patient from the house to your ambulance.
D. Open all windows and determine the source of the gas leak.
Correct Answer: C – Remove the patient from the house.
Rationale: Scene safety is the priority. You must remove the patient from
the dangerous environment before providing care.
Q2. In which situation should you call for immediate assistance?
A. You must care for two critical patients with gunshot wounds.
B. Your patient is a 26-year-old female in active labor.
C. Your patient is a child with fever who has had a brief seizure.
D. Your partner is needed to stabilize the cervical spine.
Correct Answer: A – Two critical patients with gunshot wounds.
Q3. A non-trauma patient was pulseless and apneic. Assisted ventilation
was attempted but unsuccessful. After repositioning the head, a repeat
ventilation is still unsuccessful. What is the next most appropriate step?
,A. Check for an airway obstruction.
B. Continue chest compressions only.
C. Attempt ventilations using an alternative method.
D. Continue repositioning the head.
Correct Answer: A – Check for an airway obstruction.
Q4. The purpose of the ongoing assessment is to re-evaluate the patient’s
condition and to:
A. Find any injuries missed during the initial assessment.
B. Reassure the patient that you are still caring for them.
C. Check the adequacy of each intervention performed.
D. Protect the EMT against liability.
Correct Answer: C – Check the adequacy of each intervention performed.
Q5. Which patient needs a detailed physical examination?
A. 48-year-old male with a history of heart disease who is complaining of
chest pain.
B. 35-year-old female in a single-car collision who briefly lost
consciousness.
C. 28-year-old full-term pregnant female with ruptured waters and
contractions every two minutes.
D. 32-year-old male with a minor ankle sprain.
Correct Answer: B – Patient who lost consciousness in a collision.
Q6. What is the first component of the secondary assessment in a patient
with altered mental status?
A. Vital signs
B. Focused physical exam
C. History taking (SAMPLE)
D. Pupillary assessment
,Correct Answer: C – History taking (SAMPLE).
Q7. When assessing motor function in the lower extremities of a responsive
patient, you should:
A. Ask the patient to bend their knees.
B. Ask the patient to wiggle their toes.
C. Carefully move the patient’s leg.
D. Touch the skin of the patient’s foot.
Correct Answer: B – Ask the patient to wiggle their toes.
Q8. Your patient is a 45-year-old homeless male suspected of having
hypothermia. What is the most important question to ask him?
A. Do you know who you are and where you are?
B. Are you having any trouble breathing?
C. Are you taking any prescription medications?
D. What makes the pain feel better or worse?
Correct Answer: A – Assess level of consciousness.
Q9. After opening the airway, the next step in patient management is to:
A. Insert an endotracheal tube.
B. Assess adequacy of respirations.
C. Begin mouth-to-mouth ventilation.
D. Apply bag-valve-mask ventilation.
Correct Answer: B – Assess adequacy of respirations.
Q10. You are using the OPQRST acronym to assess a responsive medical
patient. What question would you ask to assess the “P”
(Provocation/Palliation) component?
A. What were you doing when the pain started?
B. Can you describe the quality of the pain?
, C. Does anything make the pain better or worse?
D. Where is the pain located?
Correct Answer: C – Does anything make the pain better or worse?
2. Airway & Respiratory
Q11. EMTs should wear high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) respirators
when in contact with patients who have which condition?
A. HIV or AIDS
B. Tuberculosis (TB)
C. Open wounds
D. Hepatitis B
Correct Answer: B – Tuberculosis. TB is an airborne disease requiring
respiratory protection.
Q12. What is the most reliable sign of adequate artificial ventilation in an
adult?
A. Visible chest rise
B. Pulse oximetry reading
C. Gastric distention
D. Patient coughing
Correct Answer: A – Visible chest rise.
Q13. A 56-year-old male with a tracheostomy tube is in respiratory distress.
The inner cannula is clogged. What should you do?
A. Remove the inner cannula and replace it.
B. Perform a head-tilt chin-lift.
