Emergency Medical Dispatch and DD-CPR
Emergency Medical Dispatch and DD-CPR
This domain tests Dispatcher-Directed CPR (DD-CPR) and the Dispatch Life Support instructions that keep a patient alive until responders arrive. The central skill is recognizing cardiac arrest from a phone description and starting compressions without delay.
Core rules
- Ask "Is he breathing normally?" - not simply "Is he breathing?"
- Agonal gasps are not normal breathing; they are a common sign of cardiac arrest.
- Unresponsive plus not breathing normally means start DD-CPR.
- Do not ask a bystander to check a pulse; it delays compressions and is unreliable.
- Put the phone on speaker and coach continuously.
Technique you must be able to instruct
- Heel of one hand in the center of the chest, other hand on top.
- Push hard and fast: about 2 inches (5 cm) deep, 100–120 compressions per minute.
- Allow full chest recoil and minimize interruptions.
- Compression-only CPR for untrained bystanders; 30:2 if trained and willing.
- AED: power on, attach pads, follow prompts, clear the patient during analysis and shock.
Worked example
Caller: "He just collapsed and he's gasping." You ask, "Is he awake?" - "No." "Is he breathing normally?" - "No, just gasping." That is cardiac arrest, not breathing. You code the call at the highest priority (Protocol 9, ECHO) and begin DD-CPR: "I'm going to tell you how to do CPR. Put the phone on speaker and kneel beside him." You instruct compressions at 100–120 per minute and keep coaching until EMS arrives.
Traps that cost marks
- Accepting "he's breathing" when the caller describes gasping or snoring.
- Delaying compressions to find a pulse or wait for a pulse check.
- Giving CPR instructions from memory instead of protocol.
- Stopping compressions to answer questions.