AEMT practice test · 7–11% of the exam
AEMT Trauma
Trauma is 7–11% of the AEMT exam. Its items give you a mechanism, vital signs and a few physical findings that point to one life threat and one next action within the AEMT scope: hemorrhage control, airway and ventilation, spinal motion restriction, splinting, IV access on the way and the field triage decision.
135 questions in 3 hours, weighted to the six official domains, with a score report by domain and topic and an explanation for every answer.
Or start with a free domain drillA 31-year-old man has a femur fracture with large blood loss at the scene, a heart rate of 132, and cool, pale skin. Which catheter size should the AEMT choose for his IV?
What the Trauma domain tests
Needle decompression and other invasive procedures are paramedic skills; on the AEMT exam, recognizing a tension pneumothorax and calling for ALS is the right answer.
- Kinematics and mechanism: what a given crash, fall or penetrating injury predicts.
- Hemorrhage control and shock: tourniquets, wound packing, compensated versus decompensated shock, IV access en route rather than on scene.
- Head and spinal injury: herniation signs, avoiding hypoxia, spinal motion restriction decisions.
- Chest trauma: tension pneumothorax recognition, vented chest seals, flail chest.
- Abdominal and pelvic trauma: pelvic binders, eviscerations, impaled objects.
- Musculoskeletal: splinting, neurovascular checks, amputations.
- Burns: depth, Rule of Nines, airway burns. Environmental: heat stroke, hypothermia, drowning.
- Field triage: the 2021 ACS/CDC criteria that send a patient to a trauma center.
In our 135-question practice exam this domain gets 12 questions, the middle of its official 7–11% range.
Know these cold
- A tourniquet goes 2–3 inches above the wound, not over a joint, tightened until bleeding stops, with the time recorded.
- Do not delay transport of a trauma patient to start an IV; start it en route.
- Adult Rule of Nines: head 9, each arm 9, anterior trunk 18, posterior trunk 18, each leg 18, perineum 1; an infant’s head is 18 and each leg 14.
- A pelvic binder sits over the greater trochanters, not the iliac crests.
- The 2021 field triage red criteria include a patient who cannot follow commands (motor GCS under 6), respirations under 10 or over 29, room-air SpO2 under 90%, systolic pressure under 90 (under 110 from age 65), penetrating injury to the head, neck, torso or proximal extremities, a suspected flail chest or pelvic fracture, two or more proximal long-bone fractures, amputation proximal to the wrist or ankle, and suspected spinal injury with new motor or sensory loss. A fall of more than 10 feet is a yellow mechanism criterion.
- Tension pneumothorax: absent breath sounds, hypotension, distended neck veins and worsening distress; call for ALS and transport, do not wait for tracheal deviation.
- Handle the hypothermic patient gently, remove wet clothing and remember that a pulse check may need up to a minute.
Common questions
How much trauma is on the AEMT exam?
Trauma is 7–11% of the exam under the July 2024 test plan, about 7 to 11 scored questions. Trauma scenarios also appear in Clinical Judgment, so the subject matters more than the percentage suggests.
What can an AEMT do for shock in trauma?
Control bleeding, keep the patient warm, ventilate and oxygenate, apply a pelvic binder when indicated, start IV or IO access en route and give isotonic fluid when the patient is decompensating, then get the patient to a trauma center. Exact bolus volumes and pressure targets vary by protocol, so the exam does not test them.
Ready for exam day?
135 questions in 3 hours, weighted to the six official domains, with a score report by domain and topic and an explanation for every answer.
Or start with a free domain drillThe other AEMT domains
- Airway, Respiration and Ventilation 9–13%
- Cardiology and Resuscitation 11–15%
- Medical, Obstetrics and Gynecology 25–29%
- EMS Operations 6–10%
- Clinical Judgment 31–35%
Domain weights and knowledge areas from the National Registry AEMT Examination Specifications (July 2024). National Registry: AEMT and Paramedic Certification Examinations · National Registry AEMT Examination Specifications (test plan).
Original independent practice questions. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. Follow your local protocols and medical director in the field.