Teaching Scene Assessment

An effective first aid training program should extensively review scene assessment procedures, including the following principles:

• Assessing a scene for safety, number of injured, and the nature of the event
• Distinguishing between a life-threatening and a non-life-threatening emergency
• Surveying the toxic potential of the environment and the need for respiratory protection or other forms of PPE
• Establishing the presence of a confined space and determining the need for respiratory protection and specialized training to perform a rescue
• Prioritizing care when there are multiple persons injured or ill
• Assessing all victims for alertness, airway blockages, breathing, circulation, and medical alert tags
• Taking a victim's history at the scene, including determining how they were injured or why they are ill
• Performing a logical head-to-toe check for injuries
• Stressing the need to continuously monitor the victim(s)
• Emphasizing early contact with EMS
• Assessing indications for and methods of safely moving and rescuing victims
• Repositioning ill or injured victims to prevent further harm

To learn more about Workplace First Aid visit our Workplace First Aid Online Training web page.