This interactive lecture provides an overview on the safe assessment of the scene and how to perform a primary assessment on a trauma patient. Trauma scene assessment can be broken into six primary components: safety, pre-arrival information, arrival on scene, available resources, mechanism of injury, and patients. Although the components of scene assessment are taught individually, most are performed simultaneously and continuously. All of the components combine to give you a "picture" of what may have happened to the patient and guide you through the patient assessment and management process. Regardless of the situation, safety for yourself, the patient, and all others on scene and en route to the patient's final destination should always be your guiding focus.
After completing this course, the practitioner will be able to:
Identify potential threats to the safety of the patient, bystanders, and emergency personnel that are common to all emergency scenes.
Select potential threats that are unique to a given scenario, such as a motor vehicle crash (MVC).
Apply analysis of scene safety, scene situation, and kinematics into assessment of the trauma patient to make patient care and treatment decisions.
Choose appropriate steps to take to mitigate potential threats to safety.
Given a mass-casualty incident (MCI) scenario (hazardous materials incident, weapon of mass destruction), apply the use of a triage system in managing the scene, and make triage decisions based on assessment findings.
Summarize the significance of patient assessment in the context of overall management of the trauma patient.
Identify how assessment and management are integrated during the primary assessment.
Practitioners who successfully complete the Scene Assessment and Primary Assessment of the Trauma Patient (BLS Edition) course are eligible for 0.5 hours of continuing education
