North Carolina EMT State Practice Exam

Which of the following is NOT one of the steps in determining negligence?

1. Duty to Act

2. Breach of Duty

3. Patient's consent

4. Proximate Cause

The correct answer is: Patient's consent

Determining negligence typically involves a series of critical steps that can outline whether a duty of care was breached, ultimately leading to harm. The first step is identifying the duty to act. This refers to the obligation that an EMT or healthcare provider has to respond to patients and provide appropriate care. The second step, breach of duty, examines whether the provider failed to meet that standard of care. The third step is proximate cause, which looks at whether the breach directly resulted in harm to the patient. In this context, the concept of "patient's consent" does not fit within the traditional framework for establishing negligence. While obtaining informed consent is an essential ethical and legal requirement in healthcare, it does not directly pertain to the elements assessed when determining if negligence has occurred. Therefore, the inclusion of "patient's consent" as a step in determining negligence is not accurate in this context.