The 7 EMT Medications You Must Know Cold for the NREMT

EMTs don't push a long medication list — but the NREMT expects you to know the ones in scope cold. Miss a contraindication and you can fail a straightforward scenario question.

1. Oxygen

The most-used drug in EMS. Titrate to SpO₂ 94–99%. Withholding O₂ from a hypoxic patient because of a COPD history is a common wrong answer — treat hypoxia first.

2. Aspirin (ASA)

162–324 mg chewed, for suspected ACS. Contraindicated in true ASA allergy and active GI bleeding. Chewed, not swallowed whole — the exam loves this detail.

3. Nitroglycerin

0.4 mg SL for chest pain of cardiac origin, provided systolic BP > 100 and no PDE-5 inhibitor (sildenafil/tadalafil) in the last 24–48 hours. This drug interaction is a very common NREMT distractor.

4. Epinephrine auto-injector

0.3 mg IM for adults, 0.15 mg IM for peds — for anaphylaxis. If in doubt, give it. Delayed epi is a killer in anaphylaxis.

5. Albuterol MDI/nebulizer

For bronchoconstriction (asthma, COPD exacerbation). Watch for tachycardia and tremors.

6. Oral glucose

For hypoglycemia with intact gag reflex. Never for altered patients who can't protect their airway.

7. Naloxone (Narcan)

IN or IM for suspected opioid overdose with respiratory depression. Titrate to breathing — you're not trying to make the patient sober, you're trying to keep them alive to the ED.

Study tip: when you get an NREMT medication question wrong, don't just memorize the dose. Write out the indication, contraindication, and one scenario where the wrong answer would kill the patient. That's what the exam is really testing.