First Aid, CPR, and AED
What this domain tests
Whether you can keep a patient alive until EMS arrives, and whether you can describe what you did and why.
Core rules
- Scene safety first: traffic, hazards, and body substance isolation. You cannot render aid if you become a patient.
- Adult CPR: 30 compressions to 2 breaths, 100 to 120 compressions per minute, at least 2 inches deep, full chest recoil, interruptions under 10 seconds.
- AED: turn it on, apply pads to bare chest, clear everyone before the shock, resume compressions immediately after the shock or if no shock is advised.
- Severe bleeding: direct pressure, then a tourniquet high and tight on the limb if pressure fails; note the time.
- Opioid overdose: naloxone, plus rescue breathing, since naloxone does not restore breathing on its own.
- Shock: lay the patient flat, keep them warm, do not give food or drink.
- Stroke: note time of onset; seizure: protect the head, do not restrain, time the event.
Worked example
A driver is unresponsive after a crash, not breathing, and has no pulse. The officer confirms the scene is safe, directs a bystander to call EMS and get the AED, starts compressions at 110 per minute, and applies pads when the AED arrives. After the shock, compressions resume immediately.
Traps
- Delaying compressions to search for a pulse you cannot reliably detect.
- Leaning on the chest between compressions.
- Failing to clear the patient before the shock.
- Withholding naloxone because the patient is unresponsive but still breathing.
- Forgetting to document the time of tourniquet application and AED shocks.