Emergency Medical Responder 1A: Introduction
Unidades del curso de trayectoria profesional de respuesta médica de emergencia
Unit 1: Emergency Medical Systems
Often, a critical part of health care occurs before a patient even enters a hospital. Together, we’ll discover the exciting world of prehospital emergency medical care and learn the structure of the emergency medical system. You’ll quickly see how you as an emergency medical responder can play a vital role in providing care to patients. In addition, you’ll learn about the responsibilities you will hold as a professional medical responder as well as the necessary ethical and legal considerations. Finally, you’ll gain an understanding of how to handle stressful situations you may face and learn self-protective measures that are critical to your own safety.
Unit 2: Primary Assessment
Emergency Medical Responders are often the first on the scene. Having a standardized approach to assessing both the scene and patient helps provide structure and clarity to often chaotic incidents. Here, we’ll cover patient assessment techniques, including the first stages of the patient assessment plan, and learn how to determine whether the patient requires immediate transport. Get ready – there’s a lot to cover!
Unit 3: Secondary Assessment
The primary assessment helps you identify, form a general impression of, and deal with any life- or limb-threatening injuries. But what comes next? During the secondary assessment, you become a kind of medical detective, uncovering gaps in your understanding of the patient’s condition. You dig more deeply and ask questions, building on your initial patient assessment. You obtain a detailed patient history, assess pain, take vital signs, and complete a head-to-toe examination. This systematic approach used on each patient will help make you more efficient and effective as a medical responder. You will also learn techniques to clearly record and report your findings to lay a solid foundation for the care the patient will receive from EMS and hospital staff.
Unit 4: Airway Management
As an EMR, you will be called upon to respond to and manage life threats. We will teach you the interventions needed to preserve life. Assessment and management of a patient’s airway and breathing are two of the most time-critical, life-saving measures you can take. You’ll learn how to assess breathing in more detail; open and secure an airway; suction an airway and clear debris; and use oxygen therapy and ventilation devices.
Unit 5: Cardiac & Respiratory Emergencies
The fastest-paced calls an EMR will respond to are for patients in cardiac or respiratory emergencies. When a patient can’t breathe or their heart isn’t functioning properly, their life is in the balance. As an EMR, you can make a significant difference in patients’ outcomes during respiratory and cardiac emergencies. Here, we’ll look at how to identify respiratory as well as cardiac illnesses and respond to emergencies, including heart attacks and choking. What you learn could save a life!
Unit 6: Medical Emergencies
Delve into the world of medical detective work by investigating the reasons your patient isn’t acting normally or is unconscious. Here, you will learn about the causes of altered mental states and some of the more common reasons behind abdominal discomfort. When you know what signs to look for, you can more quickly assess the possible issue affecting your patient. Considering the treatments available for each issue will give you a path to follow as you handle the emergency.
Unit 7: Trauma Management
Broken bones and bleeding might be the stuff of movies, but they are also the realities of many incidents requiring the dispatch of an EMR. You will need to assess and treat patients both rapidly and decisively to prevent further injury or death. Trauma management can be high-adrenaline and graphic. Still, it is rewarding to see your efforts make a difference right before your eyes.
Unit 8: Other Medical Emergencies
Our body systems can be doing their jobs on the inside to keep us going when our health is suddenly threatened by things or conditions in the external environment. Poisons that make their way into the body can cause serious harm, including those obtained from bites, stings, and drug overdoses. Let’s dig further into how allergies affect the body and what happens when an allergic reaction becomes life-threatening. Extreme temperatures can also impact the body’s ability to function, so learning about the different heat- and cold-related emergencies patients may face can help you provide the best care possible.