First Aid and Emergency Care
First Aid and Emergency Care - what the exam tests
This domain tests the priority sequence at an emergency, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, control of bleeding, burns, fractures, poisoning, snake bite, shock and safe transport.
Core rules
- DRSABCDE: Danger, Response, Send for help, Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure.
- Adult CPR: compressions at 100–120/min, depth 5–6 cm, full recoil; ratio 30 compressions : 2 breaths; use an AED as soon as available.
- Haemorrhage: direct pressure with a clean pad, elevate the limb, apply a pressure bandage; a tourniquet only for life-threatening limb bleeding.
- Burns: cool with running water for at least 20 minutes; do not burst blisters; never apply ice, oil or toothpaste; cover with a clean non-fluffy cloth.
- Fracture: immobilise the joints above and below; check distal pulse and sensation before and after splinting.
- Snake bite: keep the patient calm, the limb still and below heart level; do not cut, suck or apply a tight tourniquet; transport to a hospital with antivenom.
Worked example
A 30-year-old collapses in the ward. He is unresponsive and not breathing normally. You shout for help, open the airway with head tilt–chin lift, find no breath sounds and begin compressions. Reasoning: unresponsiveness with absent or gasping breathing means cardiac arrest; compressions restore coronary and cerebral perfusion, and each minute of delay lowers survival by roughly 7–10 %. Give two rescue breaths after every 30 compressions if trained; otherwise continue compression-only CPR until help arrives.
Traps that cost marks
- Checking the pulse for several minutes before starting compressions.
- Giving water or food to an unconscious or convulsing patient.
- Applying a tourniquet for a minor cut, or removing an impaled object.
- Putting ice on a burn or giving aspirin to a bleeding patient.