Healthcare and Electrical Safety Flashcards
7 cards from real CABT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Healthcare and Electrical Safety flashcards as text
A GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) trips when it detects a current imbalance greater than:
Answer: 4–6 mA
A GFCI monitors the difference between hot and neutral currents and trips when the imbalance exceeds approximately 4–6 mA, indicating ground fault current.
In the context of electrical safety, 'macroshock' is defined as current entering the body:
Answer: Through the intact skin surface
Macroshock refers to electric current entering and exiting through the skin surface, requiring higher currents (mA range) to cause fibrillation.
Which color is used in the US to identify the grounding conductor in a standard electrical cord?
Answer: Green or bare copper
In the United States, the protective ground conductor is identified by green insulation or left as bare copper wire.
When testing total patient leakage current on an ECG monitor connected to a patient simulator, the technician should measure:
Answer: Current from all patient-applied parts to ground collectively
Total patient leakage current is measured by summing the current from all applied parts (leads) to ground under worst-case conditions.
Under NFPA 99, receptacles in a Category 1 (critical care) patient care area must be:
Answer: Hospital-grade and connected to the equipment grounding system
NFPA 99 requires hospital-grade receptacles in Category 1 areas to ensure reliable grounding and mechanical integrity under clinical conditions.
The primary reason medical equipment in wet procedure areas must use an isolated power system is:
Answer: To ensure a single ground fault does not complete a circuit through a patient in a wet environment
Wet environments lower skin resistance dramatically; an isolated power system prevents the first ground fault from producing a shock through the patient.
Which biomedical safety test verifies that all conductive surfaces within a patient care vicinity are bonded to a common reference potential?
Answer: Equipotential bonding test
The equipotential bonding test measures resistance between exposed conductive surfaces to confirm they share the same ground reference, preventing potential differences.