First Aid and Officer Wellness
First Aid and Officer Wellness
This domain tests immediate trauma care, medical emergencies, and the physical and mental health practices that keep officers effective. The exam focuses on scene safety, bleeding control, airway and breathing, CPR/AED use, overdose response, and stress management.
Core rules
- Ensure scene safety and use PPE before care.
- Use a MARCH-style assessment: massive bleeding, airway, respiration, circulation, head injury and hypothermia.
- For life-threatening extremity bleeding, apply direct pressure and a tourniquet high and tight; note the time and reassess.
- Use chest seals for open chest wounds and CPR/AED for cardiac arrest.
- Naloxone can reverse suspected opioid overdose; support breathing and get medical help.
- Watch for heat illness, dehydration, fatigue, and cumulative stress.
- Use peer support, employee assistance, sleep, fitness, and early help-seeking.
Worked example. An officer finds a person with arterial bleeding from the leg. The officer ensures safety, applies direct pressure, then places a tourniquet above the wound, tightens until bleeding stops, and writes the time. Reasoning: arterial bleeding can kill quickly; a loose tourniquet may fail to stop flow. Reassessment and documentation support transition to EMS.
Traps
- Applying a tourniquet too loosely and assuming it worked.
- Delaying CPR or AED use.
- Entering an unsafe scene to render aid.
- Ignoring mental health symptoms or telling others to "tough it out."
- Failing to document exposures, injuries, or medical care.
Exam focus
Prioritize life threats, explain each intervention, and include officer wellness as part of readiness.