EMT Lesson Plans

6.09 Trauma Skills I Station: Spinal Motion Restriction (New Process) Instructor Guidance

Objectives: 1. Demonstrate how to perform a jaw-thrust maneuver on a patient with a suspected spinal injury. (pp 907–908) 2. Demonstrate how to perform manual in-line stabilization on a patient with a suspected spinal injury. (pp 908–909, Skill Drill 26-1) 3. Demonstrate how to apply a cervical collar to a patient with a suspected spinal injury. (pp 917–918, Skill Drill 26-5) 4. Demonstrate the assessment of neurovascular status. (pp 1015–1017, Skill Drill 29-1) Setup: You will need your cohort bag. You will also need special items: - Long board with accessories Deployment: DO NOT LECTURE – your students should be working hands-on within 5 minutes of arriving Deploy your students in teams of 2 students. One will be the patient, the others the rescuers. Have them treat the following isolated injuries (they do not need to do patient assessment): - Stable 23-year-old, hit by car doing 20 miles per hour – isolated neck pain - Stable 78-year-old, fell down flight of stairs – isolated neck pain with crepitus to c-spine - Stable 34-year-old in head-on MVA doing 30 miles per hour – has isolated back and neck pain - Rescuer 1 takes manual spine stabilization - Rescuer 2 assesses the patient, including interview, palpation of C-spine, and neurovascular check - If the patient is asymptomatic they are asked to move to the cot themselves - If the patient is symptomatic continue below - Rescuer 2 sizes up and applies a collar and manual stabilization can be stopped - The patient is asked if he/she can self-extricate or get up - If the patient can self-extricate, he/she is helped to stretcher and strapped to it - If the patient cannot self-extricate, he/she is assisted using the longboard to move the patient to th cot. The board is then removed. - The patient gets another neurovascular check. (THIS IS THE VALLEY HOSPITAL PROCESS – IT IS AN EXAMPLE OF A CURRENT PRACTICE THAT WE WILL USE IN CLASS) All mechanisms are treated the same way. There isn’t a mechanism that would get the patient a traditional backboard process. The process is outlined as follows: