Vocabulary Introduced: Chapter 1

  1. 9-1-1 system –the U.S. national emergency number
  2. Abandonment –an EMR begins emergency medical assistance to a patient and then leaves that patient, still in need of care, unsupervised
  3. Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT)– has mastered the skills required for EMT, as well as some advanced emergency care, including advanced airway management, intravenous therapy, and basic medications
  4. Advanced life support (ALS)–invasive lifesaving procedures and interventions
  5. Assault –a patient is afraid that he or she may be touched without having given consent
  6. Battery –unlawfully touching the patient against his or her wishes
  7. Confidentiality –privacy
  8. Consent –voluntary agreement by a person to allow something to take place
  9. Core values–the basic personal beliefs and behaviors, such as integrity, fairness, respect, honesty, courage, and compassion, that are considered important and necessary among the EMS profession
  10. Culture ofemergency medical services –the structure and history of an EMS agency
  11. Data collection –specific health care information collected and documented by the EMR, is used for consideration of future health care needs and practices
  12. Emancipated minor –legally responsible for his or her own decisions and consequences of those decisions
  13. Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) – an individual who has special training in emergency medicine for prehospital care
  14. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) – a coordinated network of professionals whose function is to provide a variety of medical services, such as prehospital medical and trauma care and transportation, for those in need of emergency care
  15. Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)–has mastered the skills required for EMR and has completed the basic entry-level training for prehospital care
  16. Emergency Response Team(ERT)– a group trained to handle emergency responses specific to the industry with whom they are employed
  17. Enhanced 9-1-1 –the operator receiving the call immediately sees the name and address associated with the telephone number and what fire, police, and rescue agencies serve that address
  18. Ethical behavior –doing what is right based on a set of moral principles and values
  19. Expressed consent –the act of a competent adult or emancipated minor verbally advising a medical provider to proceed with treatment
  20. Fire-based EMS –services provided by fire departments
  21. Good Samaritan Law –a law that is meant to provide legal protection for certain people who voluntarily administer emergency assistance to an injured or ill person in good faith and with reasonable care
  22. Implied consent –the legal presumption that a patient who is unable to verbally express agreement to treatment would agree to be treated in certain circumstances, such as potentially life-threatening injuries
  23. In loco parentis – doctrine giving an adult sibling, a close relative, or a school official permission to give consent when a parent or legal guardian is not on the scene
  24. Informed consent –consent given by a responsive patient after the EMR has provided an explanation of the risks and benefits of care or treatment that is to be given
  25. Knowledge-based errors –EMR does not have the information needed to accomplish the skill
  26. Medical director –a person of the highest medical authority, usually a physician licensed as a Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) or a Medical Doctor (MD), who provides direction of on-scene activities, establishes written protocols for EMS providers, and grants variances to individual providers that allow them to exceed their standard scope of practice
  27. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)–a governmental agency established to make national highways safer, publishes guidelines for education and training
  28. National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians(NREMT)–a certification agency established to standardize testing of both written and practical skills competency requirements
  29. Negligence –the failure to provide care in a manner that upholds accepted medical practices and standards of care
  30. Paramedic –the highest level of training for prehospital providers
  31. Patient advocate –a person who makes sure that the care a patient receives is in the patient’s best interest
  32. Policies –inform EMRs of what is expected and what is not allowed
  33. Private EMS service –services both for-profit and not-for-profit operations that may or may not work in conjunction with public services
  34. Procedures –lists the employer-required steps to follow when providing patient care
  35. Professionalism –the behavior, goals, or qualities such as a skilled, caring, confident, and courteous demeanor that characterize a medical professional
  36. Protocols –medical guidelines established by an agency’s medical director or by a regulatory authority that play an important role in the delivery of EMS
  37. Public EMS – services provided by a city, county, or any other political subdivision funded by a combination of user fees and taxes
  38. Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP)–a local dispatch office staffed with professionals employed to receive 9-1-1 calls from the public and dispatch the required service to the caller as soon as possible
  39. Quality assurance(QA)–the monitoring and evaluation of all aspects of EMS services to ensure or improve the quality care the EMS system provides
  40. Quality improvement (QI)–a formal review and analysis of performance and processes within the EMS agency with the goal of reducing medical errors and needless loss of life
  41. Quality management –ensures not only the quality of the service but also the means by which to achieve the highest quality of service
  42. Research data –information such as the type of injuries or illnesses cared for, time and date of the occurrence, equipment used, treatment given, number of patients, conditions of patients, and delivery point of victims
  43. Rule-based errors –occur when policies and procedures are not followed
  44. Scope of practice –the legal description of the limit of care that an EMS provider can give based on the provider’s EMS training level and certification
  45. Skill-based errors –EMR failed to follow the correct procedures required to do the skill
  46. Sunset clause –requires policies and procedures to be reviewed every three to five years or as they expire to keep them updated
  47. Third service –an EMS operation not integrated within other agencies such as fire or police, which may serve as the backup or primary responder