Standard

EMS 127 - Patient Assessment

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Course Description

Introduces the fundamental principles and skills involved in assessing the pre-hospital patient. Emphasis is on the systematic approach to patient assessment, with adaptations for the medical versus the trauma patient. Topics include: therapeutic communications, history taking, techniques of physical exam, patient assessment, clinical decision-making, EMS communications, and documentation. This course provides instruction on topics in Division 1, Section 9 and Division 3, Sections 1-9 of the USDOT/NHTSA Paramedic National Standard Curriculum.

Competency Areas		Hours
Therapeutic Communications		Class	3
History Taking		D. Lab	2
Techniques of Physical Exam		P. Lab/O.B.I.	0
Patient Assessment Clinical Decision-Making EMS Communications Documentation		Credit	4
Prerequisite:	None
Corequisites:	AHS 101, EMS 128

Course Guide

Competency	After completing this section, the student will:	Hours
		Class	D.Lab	P.Lab/ O.B.I.
THERAPEUTIC COMMUNICATIONS		3	2	0
	Restate the strategies for developing patient rapport.
	Provide examples of open-ended and closed or direct questions.
	Discuss common errors made by paramedics when interviewing patients.
	Identify the nonverbal skills that are used in patient interviewing.
	Restate the strategies to obtain information from the patient.
	Summarize the methods to assess mental status based on interview techniques.
	Discuss the strategies for interviewing a patient who is unmotivated to talk.
	Differentiate the strategies a paramedic uses when interviewing a patient who is hostile compared to one who is cooperative.
	Restate unique interviewing techniques necessary to employ with patients who have special needs.
	Discuss interviewing considerations used by paramedics in cross-cultural communications.
	Serve as a model for an effective communication process.
	Advocate the importance of external factors of communication.
	Promote proper responses to patient communication.
	Exhibit professional non-verbal behaviors.
	Advocate development of proper patient rapport.
	Value strategies to obtain patient information.
	Exhibit professional behaviors in communicating with patients in special situations.
HISTORY TAKING		3	2	0
	Describe the techniques of history taking.
	Discuss the importance of using open-ended questions.
	Describe the use of facilitation, reflection, clarification, empathetic responses, confrontation, and interpretation.
	Differentiate between facilitation, reflection, clarification, sympathetic responses, confrontation, and interpretation.
	Describe the structure and purpose of a health history.
	Describe how to obtain a comprehensive health history.
TECHNIQUES OF PHYSICAL EXAM		9	6	0
	Define the terms inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation.
	Describe the techniques of inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation.
	Describe the evaluation of mental status.
	Evaluate the importance of a general survey.
	Describe the examination of skin, hair and nails.
	Differentiate normal and abnormal findings of the assessment of the skin.
	Distinguish the importance of abnormal findings of the assessment of the skin.
	Describe the examination of the head and neck.
	Differentiate normal and abnormal findings of the scalp examination.
	Describe the normal and abnormal assessment findings of the skull.
	Describe the assessment of visual acuity.
	Explain the rationale for the use of an ophthalmoscope.
	Describe the examination of the eyes.
	Explain the rationale for the use of an otoscope.
	Describe the examination of the ears.
	Differentiate normal and abnormal assessment findings of the ears.
	Describe the examination of the nose.
	Differentiate normal and abnormal assessment findings of the nose
	Describe the examination of the mouth and pharynx.
	Differentiate normal and abnormal assessment findings of the mouth and pharynx.
	Describe the examination of the neck.
	Differentiate normal and abnormal assessment findings in the neck
	Describe the survey of the thorax and respiration.
	Describe the examination of the posterior chest.
	Describe percussion of the chest.
	Differentiate the percussion notes and their characteristics.
	Differentiate the characteristics of breath sounds.
	Describe the examination of the anterior chest.
	Differentiate normal and abnormal assessment findings of the chest examination.
	Describe special examination techniques related to the assessment of the chest.
	Describe the examination of the arterial pulse including rate, rhythm, and amplitude.
	Distinguish normal and abnormal findings of arterial pulse.
	Describe the assessment of jugular venous pressure and pulsations.