A gurney is best described as:

• A. A portable chair used for waiting rooms.
• B. A bed on a frame.
• C. A simple blanket used for warmth.
• D. A cot with wheels designed to transport patients.

Answer: (D)

A gurney is a wheeled stretcher—essentially a bed-like platform mounted on a frame with wheels that allows EMS teams to move a patient from the scene to the ambulance and on to the hospital. It’s designed for safe transport, with features like straps to secure the patient and often adjustable height to reduce lifting risk for providers and to improve patient comfort during loading and unloading. That description—a bed on a wheeled frame built for transporting patients—best captures what a gurney is. The other options describe items not used for transporting patients: a chair for waiting rooms is for sitting, not moving patients; a blanket is just fabric for warmth; while a wheeled cot is functionally similar, the term gurney in EMS specifically refers to the wheeled stretcher used for patient transport.