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 case in New Mexico highlights the importance of thorough assessments after paramedics deemed a patient’s self-inflicted gunshot wound unsurvivable
You are on scene with a patient who is complaining of weakness. The vital signs your partner has given you are not very detailed. What are some ways to improve on those findings?
What are the most important things to remember when treating a patient with a history of diabetes?
Clearly patients do surprise us from time to time, even when they are dead
What does vitamin B1 deficiency mean in the prehospital environment?
Car in garage left running for hours; one person died and six more injured
One officer and two residents also treated
Up to 40 ‘avoidable deaths’ occur in California each year because of unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning
Books
Tools and tips on learning more about the crucial task to investigate the patient’s injury or illness
More than 20 people showed symptoms of CO poisoning
Paramedic and firefighter collapsed and had to be rescued
EMS Command responded to call for a sick female, saved family
When purchasing medical products consider discounts, bulk purchasing and current customer references
What the patient really means when they use one of these common phrases
Here are 10 ideas to program the time while students wait for their next patient assessment scenario or high-fidelity patient simulation
As a paramedic I don’t need the best stethoscope ever, just something better than what I have
Every step of the way, at every interaction with a health care provider including EMTs and medics, a diagnosis is made
Patient assessment is an investigation process; good questions lead to good answers and better treatment
Running a kitchen and making a good meal is in many ways like running a call
Learn how you can accurately assess patients who are deaf or hard of hearing under extra challenging conditions
Create and complete realistic patient assessment scenarios to challenge EMS students, new EMTs and new paramedics
Dig deep during the assessment to either rule out or rule in specific traumatic injury or illness