Patient Assessment
Patient assessment is the process an EMT or paramedic follows to evaluate an injured or ill patient. The process includes a scene size-up, which is the identification and mitigation of risks, a primary assessment to find and fix life threats and a secondary assessment to perform a focused history and physical exam of the patient. Each step is an opportunity to collect information that will guide treatment and inform a transport decision. In the EMS1 Patient Assessment topic find the latest news about patient assessment and top resources to improve your patient assessment skills.
Lessons from a learning community, Part 2
Steve Whitehead shares how to avoid legal action, negligence or malpractice with the golden rule
Steve Whitehead and Dr. David Tan discuss the EMS response to a patient who is allegedly drunk and has been seen by providers many times in the past
Point-of-care devices can supplement but not replace history-taking and physical examination during fireground rehab patient assessment
Understand why dextrose given during prehospital resuscitation from cardiac arrest may actually decrease the chance of survival to hospital discharge
The ambulances will carry CT scanners, cameras for communicating with stroke neurologists and medication that can begin to dissolve clots and restore blood flow to the brain
Recognize the signs and symptoms of heart failure and understand how capnography can be used to guide treatment
The hospital failed to follow proper patient identification protocols by checking birth dates
A man came running up to the emergency department’s reception area just as I sat there finishing paperwork from a simple chest pain call
“He has your eyes” were the words of comfort for a frazzled mom of a boy with special health care needs
Prehospital ultrasound, the latest patient assessment technology to transition from the hospital to EMS, discussed at EMS World Expo
The scanners pair with iOS and Android devices for point-of-care assessments to help diagnose critically ill patients
Officials said having the device in an ambulance to diagnose a stroke in the field would allow paramedics to send patients to the best treatment center
Types and frequency of traumatic injury secondary to marijuana intoxication described at EMS World Expo World Trauma Symposium
Crush injury from structure collapse and EMS treatment priorities described at EMS World Expo World Trauma Symposium
Attendees can take part in treatment of an 8-year-old patient with asthma during the 2016 EMS World Expo
Ada County Paramedics, a three-time Mission: Lifeline recipient, describes their collaborations with hospitals and doctors to improve STEMI care
Technology to photograph, video and broadcast from an emergency incident to a dispatcher shortens EMS response, improves bystander care and ensures better patient treatment at hospitals
Trendelenburg is taught to all EMS students, but does it still have a place in prehospital care?
Asking our patients and their families to provide feedback through a formal assessment of patient satisfaction should be a priority of every EMS agency
How do you assess and treat general weakness in a geriatric patient that faints at church or a public event?
Lactate may be used to identify a common killer in the prehospital environment
Review the findings for a critical shock patient and understand the ominous implications of pathological Q waves
Your patient has neurological deficits after a traumatic injury. Should you use a backboard?
Learn the importance of electrolytes for homeostasis and how to recognize when sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, phosphate and magnesium levels are too high or too low
A generator was being run indoors at the event, forcing nearly 300 guests to be evacuated from the venue
EMS Products
Augmented reality, with heads-up display devices and conductive swath devices, has the potential to improve patient assessment and care
How much do you know about some of the relevant and irrelevant medical conditions patients are prone to disclose?
You were asked to assess and treat a 44-year-old woman who has been feeling weak and lethargic; did you make the right call?
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