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?
Consider non-cardiac causes, like aortic dissection, when assessing any chest pain patient
Review the basics of burn identification, assessment, and prehospital management
‘May’ and ‘consider’ open up EMS protocols to allow for judgment calls and encourage critical thinking
Analysis of more than 150,000 emergency room visits found differences in prescribing by race and ethnicity for every type of pain
What’s your assessment and care of an elderly male who is weak, has chest pain and not a reliable historian?
What’s your assessment and care of a 50-year-old male complaining of chest pain?
