Your medical director is holding an in-service focusing on the prehospital management of adult patients with respiratory complaints. He asks the group to explain how they can determine if the patient is breathing adequately. Which one of the following responses is most appropriate?

A) "A patient is breathing adequately if the depth of breathing is shallow, but the rate is increased above normal."
B) "Checking the patient's breath sounds with a stethoscope is the best way to determine if a patient's breathing is adequate."
C) "For an adult patient to be breathing adequately, the rate should be within 8 to 24 breaths per minute with a full chest rise with each breath."
D) "The EMT can assume breathing is adequate if the patient has an open airway and a normal respiratory rate."

C