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.
How advanced techniques like delayed-sequence intubation and NIPPV mitigate adverse outcomes in physiologically difficult airways
Where capnography can guide treatment in complex medical scenarios
Your willingness to provide pain management is a reflection of your ability to empathize with the patient
Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia to affect our health; recognize and treat the symptoms
Her heart rate is rapid, her skin clammy and she’s having trouble breathing — what’s your diagnosis?
He made the 27-year-old walk to the ambulance and his injuries, which included a broken back, 12 broken ribs and brain damage were not discovered until arriving at the hospital
It can be frustrating to follow procedures when you think a patient is faking an illness, but your career is worth it
A race volunteer and EMT in another city rushed over and didn’t feel a pulse; he’s concerned medics didn’t start CPR but they say she did have a pulse
Understanding the difference can sometimes make all the difference
I’m holding his hands in mine, and quietly telling him to squeeze; I do not need to be a mind reader to know what he is thinking
Police have Tasers ready for an agitated man pacing back and forth and sweating — what’s your treatment plan?
Police have tasers ready for an agitated man pacing back and forth and sweating — what’s your course of action?
Responders at the scene started to feel nauseated, and a faulty pipe was blamed for the leak that killed a restaurant manager
A service animal can be a great help to responders as well as the client — as long as you know the tasks it’s been trained on
The service denied a claim filed by a woman who says they failed to correctly diagnose and treat her husband’s medical condition and he died because of it
Check it out and add your own thoughts in the comments
The patient who wandered from her room and died in a locked stairwell did so after a doctor’s order “never to leave patient unattended”
British research shows standardized treatment before a patient reaches the hospital greatly increases their chances of survival and recovery
Researchers in the U.K. were able to implement consistent prehospital practices for stroke and MI nationwide — can we import to the U.S.?
Increased demand for IV fluids because of a worse-than-average flu season, plus factory shutdowns over the holidays have left pharmacists scrambling, FDA says
She regained consciousness inside the ambulance while paramedics were working on her and was flown to a medical center
Could Amazon’s futuristic delivery device carry AEDs, naloxone, and epinephrine injectors to medical emergencies?
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only two states have laws requiring carbon monoxide monitors in schools
EMS1 sits down with Mike McEvoy, EMS coordinator for the Saratoga County (N.Y.) EMS, to discuss his hometown agency’s in-field utilization of capnography to better treat their patients
One emergency medical worker suffered a broken leg during the evacuation after jumping from a wall to get to another part of the school
