Power lift: feet shoulder-width, back locked, lift with the legs, weight close to the body.
Before you read
Test yourself first: 5 questions
Question 1 of 5
When moving a loaded stretcher over a threshold, it is safer to:
Answer: A. Pushing lets you work from the legs and keeps the weight in front of you where the back stays neutral. Pulling puts the load behind you and tempts a twist, one-armed reaching loads the spine unevenly, and lifting from the waist with straight knees removes the legs from the lift entirely.
Question 2 of 5
A flight crew is en route to take your patient. Which preparation of the IV line is most helpful before they arrive?
Answer: A. Moving a patient onto a stretcher and into an aircraft is when lines are pulled out, so the catheter and tubing are secured and labeled with what is running. Removing working access wastes it, and clamping a line lets it clot. The flight crew carries its own supplies, so a spare bag adds nothing to patient safety.
Question 3 of 5
When approaching a helicopter whose rotors are turning you should:
Answer: A. The pilot must see you and must agree you may come, and the front is the only place both are true. The tail rotor is the hazard behind the aircraft, the main rotor dips on the downhill side, and moving before the signal means moving before the crew is ready for you.
Question 4 of 5
Which habit does most to sustain a provider's health across a long EMS career?
Answer: A. Career longevity in EMS is built on the ordinary things — conditioning that makes the lifting survivable, sleep that restores judgment, and time genuinely away from the work. Extra shifts pay now and cost the same capacity later, and silence about hard calls lets them accumulate unhandled.
Question 5 of 5
Fire apparatus has parked at an angle upstream of a highway crash to shield the scene from traffic. The ambulance is best positioned:
Answer: A. The blocking apparatus absorbs a strike from traffic, so the ambulance parks downstream of the crash within that protected space, positioned so the patient is loaded away from moving lanes. Parking upstream turns the ambulance into the blocker, and an open lane or opposite shoulder exposes the crew to passing vehicles.
Keep the streak going with more questions like these, each with a full rationale.
Key points to remember
- Power lift: feet shoulder-width, back locked, lift with the legs, weight close to the body.
- Emergency move (immediate danger): drag along the long axis of the body.
- Urgent move: rapid extrication when the patient's condition requires it.
- Non-urgent move: direct carry, extremity lift or draw-sheet transfer.
- Know the weight limits of each device; get help for bariatric patients.
Field priorities
- Communicate and lift on a count; the person at the head calls the moves.
- Avoid twisting and reaching; move your feet instead.
- Use a stair chair on stairs when no spinal injury is suspected.
Coaching the patient
- Push rather than pull when possible, and keep the load between the shoulders and hips.
Red flags: act now
- Fire, explosion risk or traffic — move now
- Lifting beyond the team's ability
- A patient who cannot be moved safely without more help
Lifting & Moving: FAQs
What are the priority actions for Lifting & Moving in the field?
Communicate and lift on a count; the person at the head calls the moves. Avoid twisting and reaching; move your feet instead. Use a stair chair on stairs when no spinal injury is suspected.
What findings in Lifting & Moving change your plan or your transport decision?
Fire, explosion risk or traffic — move now. Lifting beyond the team's ability. A patient who cannot be moved safely without more help.
What do I need to know about Lifting & Moving for the NREMT?
Power lift: feet shoulder-width, back locked, lift with the legs, weight close to the body. Emergency move (immediate danger): drag along the long axis of the body. Urgent move: rapid extrication when the patient's condition requires it. Non-urgent move: direct carry, extremity lift or draw-sheet transfer.
What should the crew communicate or document for Lifting & Moving?
Push rather than pull when possible, and keep the load between the shoulders and hips.
