AMCA PTTC Preparation Guide: Patient Care, Safety, Mobility, and Terminology Study Guide

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Trace right ventricle, pulmonary artery, lungs, pulmonary veins, left atrium, left ventricle, and aorta. The pulmonary artery carries blood away before that blood receives oxygen in the lungs.

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When explaining exercise tolerance, distinguish lungs exchanging gases from the heart pumping blood. Working tissues need oxygen to enter blood and then reach them through circulation.

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An ankle sprain and an Achilles tendon injury can both affect walking. The sprain concerns a joint-stabilizing ligament, while the Achilles tendon connects calf muscles with the heel bone.

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A patient moves an ankle but reports numb skin over it. The movement demonstrates motor performance, while the numbness identifies a separate sensory concern that matters before thermal treatment.

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Compare sudden ankle pain after a twist with gradually developing foot pain during repeated running. Describe the reported onset and activity history without assuming that gradual onset rules out a bone injury.

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Distinguish nutrient absorption from kidney filtration. Within a nephron, the glomerulus filters fluid and small substances, while the tubule returns needed water and nutrients to blood.

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When blood glucose rises, insulin signaling promotes glucose uptake in responsive tissues. The ovaries and testes also act as endocrine glands, illustrating how reproductive organs participate in body-wide chemical signaling.

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When a patient stops during a delegated walk, record the distance, stated reason, observed response, and notification instead of reducing the encounter to a judgment about effort.

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A patient says the knee feels as though it will give way, but you have not observed buckling. Attribute the statement and separately describe the walking performance you actually witnessed.

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If a pulse was entered as 82 instead of the measured 72, an authorized correction might read: "Correction entered November 1, 2026, by Jordan Lee, technician: pulse in the October 31 entry should read 72 beats/min, not 82." Identify the affected entry and preserve its history through the system's procedure.

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A clear report identifies the measurement and units: pulse 72 beats/min, respiratory rate 18 breaths/min, temperature 37.0 °C, and blood pressure 118/76 mm Hg. These illustrative values do not by themselves establish readiness for treatment.

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When reporting a temperature taken by one method after an earlier measurement used another, identify both methods along with the values. This preserves the information needed to judge whether the apparent change represents a useful trend.

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Report the calculated rate together with whether the patient was resting or had recently walked. Preserve any observed irregularity and accompanying symptoms rather than reporting only the arithmetic result.

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If breathing becomes visibly labored while the count remains 18 breaths/min, report both the rate and the increased effort. The unchanged number does not erase the new observation.

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A reading of 118/76 mm Hg means systolic 118 and diastolic 76. Include relevant activity and symptoms when reporting a comparison with an earlier measurement.

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Report that a shin dressing is loose, fluid is visible at its lower edge, and the patient reports increased pain. Keep clean supplies separate from the used dressing.

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An adult's arm wound is spurting blood. Send someone to activate emergency help while you begin bleeding control. The subsequent handoff gives the location, injury, observed bleeding, changes in condition, and measures already taken.

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An unresponsive adult who gasps and has no definite pulse after the brief assessment needs CPR and an AED. Apply pads and follow the AED instructions. Resume CPR immediately after a shock or a no-shock instruction. AMCA establishes CPR as an examination topic; the clinical authority for these intervals and ratios is the American Heart Association's 2025 adult healthcare-professional BLS algorithm: https://cpr.heart.org/-/media/CPR-Files/CPR-Guidelines-Files/2025-Algorithms/Algorithm-BLS-Adult-Healthcare-250701.pdf?sc_lang=en

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For a POS member's specialist appointment, check the referral requirement as well as any separate preauthorization requirement. Verify enrollment, covered benefits, network status, and claim conditions separately.

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If a worksheet lists a service absent from available documentation, flag the discrepancy for responsible staff instead of copying the worksheet forward as though the record confirmed it.

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If an available slot lacks staff assistance specified for the visit, bring the conflict to the scheduling lead before confirmation and communicate the resolved arrangement clearly to the patient.

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After explaining a preparation instruction, ask the patient to describe what they will do before the next visit. Use an omitted step to guide clarification and another check.

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A trainee who prepared treatment areas can describe organized setup and delegated patient support. Claiming independent treatment planning would misrepresent a different level of clinical responsibility.

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A patient asks to replace planned cold treatment with heat. Communicate the request to the supervisor instead of treating preference or equipment familiarity as authorization to change the modality.

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For an assigned scheduling task, use the authorized appointment information rather than opening unrelated clinical notes simply because the software permits access.

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An authorized treating provider requests information for ongoing care. Recognize the exception while confirming the treatment role and using the approved communication process.

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If a colleague starts discussing an identifiable patient's care in a crowded waiting area, move the conversation to an appropriate private setting with the relevant staff.

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A patient declines walking because of fear. Pause the activity and report what was declined and the patient's stated reason so the clinician can address the concern.

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When a patient seems uncertain after an explanation, ask about preferred communication support and use teach-back rather than assuming lack of interest or ability.

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If a thermal-device instruction omits the treatment site, identify that omission to the supervisor before placing the device on a region chosen by assumption.

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Organisms on a patient or bedrail can contaminate gloves and then reach another patient through touch. Removing contaminated gloves, performing indicated hand hygiene, and cleaning shared equipment interrupt different links in that route.

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For liquid leaking from an unlabeled container, keep others from contact and activate the established reporting process instead of choosing cleanup materials based on an assumed identity.

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For supine preparation, confirm back-lying orientation, then arrange the requested supports and check tolerance instead of treating the position name as the complete instruction.

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When two patients have similar names, match the assignment using the approved identification process before preparing treatment, even if one person looks familiar from an earlier visit.

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For history gathering, organize intake information and relay the patient's reports accurately. For systems review, prepare privacy, draping, and requested positions. For selected tests and measures, prepare the requested instrument and support surface and assist only as delegated. For evaluation, communicate observed responses and patient-reported symptoms so the physical therapist can integrate them with other findings. APTA's initial examination guidance provides the clinical framework: https://www.apta.org/your-practice/documentation/defensible-documentation/elements-within-the-patientclient-management-model/initial-examination

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Preparing one knee does not ordinarily require uncovering both legs completely. Arrange clothing and draping for the requested access and address concerns before proceeding with positioning.

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If a patient reports new dizziness after moving into sitting, pause progression toward standing and obtain supervisory assistance while communicating the position change and symptom.

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Longstanding stiffness without acute inflammatory findings differs from a newly injured, hot, red, swollen ankle. Recognize those discriminating findings before carrying out the clinician-selected thermal plan.

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If the patient reports new numbness at the intended site, leave the heat unapplied and communicate the sensory change to the supervisor rather than relying on repeated comfort questions.

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When a patient reports burning beneath a heat application, stop it and obtain the supervisor's review, explaining the symptom and timing rather than waiting for the timer.

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A patient reports less discomfort after prescribed cooling. Report that symptom response without treating it as permission to change weight-bearing restrictions or progress exercise.

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A prescribed skin check reveals a new blister beneath the wrap. Stop use and promptly contact the supervising clinician, reporting the finding and the patient's sensory status.

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Before setup, identify the actual device and verify its prescribed operating and monitoring instructions. Do not transfer a remembered ice-pack exposure time to a circulating wrap.

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If a patient hangs on the upper pads instead of using the handgrips, pause and obtain a supervised fit and technique check before continuing the mobility activity.

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For a trained patient following this plan, reinforce that the uninvolved leg begins ascent. Obtain supervision if demonstrated technique differs from the established instruction.

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Ask a trained patient to recall crutches, involved leg, then uninvolved leg before the supervised descent. Clarify a conflicting demonstration with the rehabilitation team.

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Reinforce the assigned sequence: walker, injured leg, stronger leg, with loading through the injured leg as pain or strength permits under the prescription. Keep the walker close enough to avoid reaching far forward. To rise from a stable chair, use the armrests or seat to push up, then take the walker handgrips after establishing standing balance with the assigned assistance. Alberta Health Services provides the device-specific fit, walking, and chair-transfer instructions.

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If a frame wobbles or has a visibly damaged foot, remove it from the planned activity and obtain appropriate equipment through the workplace process before walking begins.

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Complete required setup and locking checks before the patient enters the bars. If an adjustment is insecure, resolve it before the standing activity rather than proceeding cautiously around the defect.

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Unexpected knee buckling before a standing transfer means a required condition is absent. Pause and obtain assistance and clinician review instead of selecting a manual lift.

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Myositis combines my/o, muscle, with -itis, inflammation. Tachycardia combines a fast-rate prefix with a heart-related component. The parts contribute different kinds of information.

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Compare carditis, heart inflammation, with cardiology, the study of the heart. The shared heart component does not make the complete meanings identical.

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Phlebitis combines a vein root with -itis, inflammation. Arteritis identifies inflammation of an artery. Neither word alone supplies the cause of the inflammatory process.

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Changing tachy- to brady- reverses the rate description while retaining the heart-related subject of the completed term. Identify the prefix before deciding what aspect of the word changed.

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Hypoglycemia describes low blood glucose, while hyperglycemia describes high blood glucose. The prefix changes the direction of the level being described; the underlying subject remains blood glucose.

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Pericardial refers to a relationship around the heart, while endocardial concerns the inner heart. Read the location component before combining it with the heart-related root.

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Dermatitis means inflammation of the skin. The term identifies a tissue and process, but it does not show that bacteria caused the inflammation or that an antimicrobial treatment is required.

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Myopathy identifies muscle disease. A report of muscle discomfort, by itself, does not establish that condition. Decode the disease term accurately while preserving symptom reports as reports.

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Colectomy concerns removal of colon tissue, colotomy an incision into the colon, and colostomy creation of an opening involving the colon. Compare the endings while holding the organ component constant.

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In hyperglycemia, hyper- supplies the high direction and -emia identifies a blood condition. By comparison, phleb- identifies a vein rather than the blood-glucose condition described by the complete word.