First Aid, CPR, and Emergency Response
What this domain tests
This domain tests basic life support, bleeding control, overdose response, and scene management before EMS arrives.
Core rules
- Scene safety first. Do not become a second patient. Request EMS, assign roles, and use PPE, including gloves and a barrier device.
- CPR: adult compressions at 100-120 per minute, at least 2 inches deep, full recoil, 30 compressions to 2 ventilations. Hands-only CPR is acceptable if not trained or unwilling to ventilate. Use an AED as soon as it arrives and follow prompts.
- Choking: encourage coughing; for a conscious adult, abdominal thrusts; for an unconscious victim, start CPR and check the airway.
- Severe bleeding: direct pressure, wound packing, and a tourniquet high and tight on the limb when pressure fails. Note the time applied.
- Opioid overdose: give naloxone (nasal or injectable), support breathing with rescue breaths, and place in a recovery position. Illinois's overdose Good Samaritan protections encourage calling 911.
- Shock: lay the person flat, keep warm, do not give food or drink.
- Triage and mass casualty: START triage - immediate, delayed, minor, deceased, based on respirations, perfusion, and mental status.
- 745 ILCS 49 provides Good Samaritan protections for emergency care rendered without compensation.
Worked example
An officer finds an unresponsive man in a parked car with a syringe nearby. She ensures scene safety, puts on gloves, checks breathing, gives naloxone, begins rescue breathing with a barrier device, and places him in a recovery position when breathing returns. EMS takes over and she documents the naloxone dose and time.
Traps
Entering an unsafe scene before staging. Delaying compressions to search for a pulse. Failing to record the tourniquet time. Assuming breathing has returned without reassessing.