Did I organize my TRIAGE priorities right?
Question:
1. Severe arterial bleeding. In severe shock.
2. Conscious with femur broken and mild head injuries. No blood. In severe shock.
3. Semi-conscious. Stroke. Mild shock.
4. Unconscious with suspected spinal. No other visible injuries. RPMs fine.
5. Unconscious with no other signes of injury. RPMs fine.
6. Nosebleed. Shock not mentioned. (this is where I'm confused: it's a really, really, really minor injury that will most likely clot itself. Do I still treat it before cardiac arrest? I've had instructors stress that all injuries, however minor, are always treated before you start CPR or treat someone fatally injured. Would I even start CPR in this case (once I've treated each victim) or would I go from victim to victim making sure their conditions don't slip).
7. Cardiac Arrest.
BTW, I'm a lifeguard and my instructor's a real hard ***.
Answers:
Your list is fine.
And yes, cardiac arrest comes last. In fact, that will typically earn you a black tag and a trip to the morgue. You can debate the stroke one, since you have like a 4 hour window to administer thrombolitics.
I agree with your order. Though, I wasn't aware triage was part of the lifeguard course.
Always remember your ABC's
I would go with Arterial bleeding first
Then Concious with broken femur
Unconscious with suspected spinal next and then
Unconscious with good RPMs (remember this patient might well be a diabetic) followed by
Semi-conscious stroke victim
cardiac arrest (he has the least chance of recovery)
and then nosebleed
(there will always be a number of arguments about which to do first - so don't let it panic you too much)
BTW I am an Emergency Medical Technician - Intermediate
Look after yourself and be safe
Sandy
http://www.moms-home-safety.com...
I would have put the unconcious guy with no injuries last as long as his ABC was good. There is nothing you can do for him except monitor... as far as going to the cardiac guy after the fact, no. You dont want to waste your time on him while you have arterial bleeders and head injuries, and a stroke... if you were real good, it would take you atleast 10 minutes to triage and do adequate treatment. In which case, its a little too late for CPR anyways. That is a bad question. Dont worry though as long as you pass. real life is a little different sometimes.
As they previously said it is ABC. If someone is fatally injured you do not treat them until everyone else is taken care of. The cpr can be tricky because the not breathing part is the B of the ABC. Usually these kinds of tests require a question and answer follow up. You should be able to explain your actions and defend what you did. Often they are looking to see if you are easily swayed from your decisions which means you are unsure of yourself. We can only do what we can do. Remember your training and trust your decisions. You need to detach yourself during an emergency so that your choices are not based on personal feelings.
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