NREMT Medical Technicians EMT New Questions

In pediatric START or JumpSTART triage, a " delayed " status is appropriate if the child is breathing adequately, has palpable pulses, and follows commands. The respiratory rate of 16 is normal for a 9-year-old, and being able to walk also supports the “delayed” tag.

" Mottled skin " and " breathing only after airway opening " would more likely lead to " immediate " or even " expectant " categories depending on associated symptoms.

Compared to adults, pediatric patients have:

A proportionately larger tongue, which increases the risk of airway obstruction

A larger occiput, which causes natural neck flexion when lying supine, potentially occluding the airway

This anatomical difference is why EMS providers often use a shoulder roll instead of a head tilt to maintain a neutral airway in infants and toddlers.

The correct answers are A and C.

START triage categorizes patients based on respirations, perfusion, and mental status (RPM). A red tag (Immediate) is assigned to patients who have life-threatening conditions that can be rapidly treated.

START Criteria for Red Tag (Immediate):

Respirations > 30/min

Capillary refill > 2 seconds or no radial pulse

Unable to follow commands

Option A: Correct (Red Tag)

The child is unconscious (cannot follow commands) → immediate red classification

Capillary refill is 4 seconds ( > 2 seconds) → poor perfusion

Meets two red criteria

Option C: Correct (Red Tag)

Normal respirations (acceptable), BUT

Capillary refill is 5 seconds ( > 2 seconds) → indicates poor perfusion/shock

This alone qualifies for red tag

Why the other options are incorrect:

B. Walking patient → Automatically categorized as green (minor) regardless of other findings

D. No breathing after airway repositioning → Classified as black (deceased/expectant), not red

E. Cannot walk but follows commands, normal breathing, normal pulse → Yellow (delayed)

Exact Extracts:

“Patients who can walk are tagged as minor (green).”

“If capillary refill is greater than 2 seconds, tag the patient as immediate (red).”

“If the patient cannot follow simple commands, tag as immediate.”

“If the patient is not breathing after airway repositioning, tag as deceased (black).”

When an incident involves multiple agencies with shared responsibility, NREMT teaches that a Unified Command structure is used. This allows police, fire, EMS, and other agencies to work together under a common set of objectives while maintaining their individual authority.

Option C is correct because the defining feature of unified command is multi-agency involvement, not rank or arrival order.

Option A is incorrect because no single agency automatically has authority.

Option B misunderstands unified command, which still functions with coordinated leadership.

Option D is incorrect because EMS does not automatically become part of command.

NREMT emphasizes unified command to improve coordination, communication, and safety during MCIs.