EMT Lesson Plans

6.13 Trauma Skills II Station: Helmet Removal Instructor Guidance

Objectives: 1. Demonstrate how to remove a helmet from a patient with a suspected head or spinal injury. (pp 920–922, Skill Drill 26-6) 2. Demonstrate the alternate method for removal of a football helmet from a patient with a suspected head or spinal injury. (p 923) 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 how to perform manual in-line stabilization on a patient with a suspected spinal injury. (pp 908–909, Skill Drill 26-1) 5. Demonstrate how to immobilize a patient with a suspected spinal injury to a long backboard. (pp 909–911, Skill Drill 26-2)

Setup: You will need your cohort bag. You will also need a backboard kit and a helmet: - Longboard with 3 straps - Collar - tape - Motorcycle helmet, Football helmet and a towel Deployment:

DO NOT LECTURE – your students should be working hands-on within 5 minutes of arriving Deploy your students in one team – one student should be patient, the rest rescuers. The patient is deemed unstable during the primary assessment. The students should perform all skills steps on the Helmet removal skills sheet. Please note the following: - Helmet removal should be accomplished with the final result being the head resting on a towel that takes up roughly the same amount of space the back of the helmet would take up - Continue rotating students until time is up. Do not stop applying the device even if you think the ‘Students got it”. This product is rarely utilized in the field and it’s likely this practice will be the only practice they will have until they really need to use it. Debriefing: Give students feedback on the application of the device after it is complete. A good removal will leave the patient: - With a head the same distance from the board as he/she had with the helmet on - Correctly centered on the board Equipment: - Cohort Bag - Motorcycle Helmet (full) and Football Helmet - Longboard with accessories