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.
A verbal attack can be personal; here’s how to deflect the attack and minimize the damage
New technology is changing how we place electrodes for accurate 12-lead ECGs
Spend time with infants and toddlers to learn and understand normal responses
Without violating patient confidentiality, what are some of those crazy cases you’ll never forget? Add your stories to the comments
A relative found the family members dead Wednesday evening after going to check on them
One boy is in critical condition and a third teen is hospitalized in good condition
Your understanding of standard operating procedure may evolve from rulebook to guidebook
Two tripping points that can be a challenge when evaluating impaired consciousness levels with the Glasgow Coma Score
Learn 2 quick tips for performing a physical examination
Sixteen others were hospitalized after being exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide in a packing facility at a farm
The dog began licking his owners to wake them
Seizures in pediatric patients can be caused by many different underlying medical issues
Understanding the differences can lead to more precise prehospital treatment of patients with diabetes
A careful and thorough EMS stroke assessment can make a difference in ED management
One area receiving increasing scrutiny is the control of body temperature when a patient is severely injured
Consider many causes for ‘general weakness’ in a patient with a complex medical history, including the possibility of sepsis
Experts offer their opinions on the technology available to medics
The canine woke her up as she was sleeping and her condo was filling with CO
EMTs and paramedics can help septic patients simply but effectively by understanding the pathophysiology of sepsis
Two people were hospitalized because of the high CO levels
Try these new ways of training your students to conquer EMT class
500 students also had to be evacuated, with firefighters finding high and unsafe levels of CO in the school
Doctors say the family of six could have died had they made the emergency call later
When crews arrived, one of the family members had already fallen unconscious
Monitoring ETCO2 with waveform capnography gives EMS providers real-time feedback to make treatment decisions and improve care for a multitude of medical problems and traumatic injuries
