Life-Saving Skills Every Paramedic Should Know

Paramedics refer to a highly-trained and skilled health professional that offers emergency treatment to the patients and save their lives. Suppose you are going to the office as everyday routine life with your colleague. However, midway through your way, you both met an accident, and your friend started bleeding due to injuries. Chances are you got panic and don’t know what to do to stop that blood. That is where calling paramedics come in handy. These professionals have sufficient knowledge, skills, and training to handle emergencies.

The primary responsibility of paramedics is to attend an emergency call, offer urgent medical services and shift the patent to the medical facility. Working as a paramedic is no cakewalk. It would help if you were emotionally strong and highly decisive to take the right actions in an emergency since you would be dealing with a life-death situation. Paramedics deal with different situations each day. However, learning some common life skills can help them in various life-threatening conditions. So are you looking for the basic skills to take your paramedic career to the next level? Well, in that case, you have just come to the right place. Below is the list of essential life-skills you must know to handle most types of emergencies:

CPR

When it comes to life-saving techniques, one of the common skills is CPR or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. Whenever a patient stops responding or isn’t breathing, check for the pulse. If there is no pulse, chances are the person is suffering from cardiac arrest. Not treating such a condition might lead to brain damage or, worse, death. However, you can only perform first-aid resuscitation in an emergency if you have a Basic Life Support (BLS) certificate. You don’t need to worry if your certification has expired. You can opt for BLS recertification online and rescue victims with appropriate procedures. The best part about an online certificate is you can learn around your schedule.

In CPR, you need to compress the patient’s chest and provide artificial ventilation to restore oxygen and blood circulation manually. Furthermore, it would help if you also had AED or Automated External Defibrillator at all times. The portable device is perfect for monitoring heart rhythm while the victim is experiencing cardiac arrest and giving electrical shock to restore the heart rhythm.

Heimlich Maneuver

Imagine you got a call from a victim’s friend or family member that the patient is choking and can’t even utter a word. There is a high possibility the patient might have swallowed any food or object that is causing a blockage in the windpipe. Due to this blockage, the patient might be struggling hard to get the air in their body. Keep in mind; excessive choking might also result in the patient’s death. So if such is a case, try the Heimlich maneuver technique. Therefore, stand behind the patient, wrap your hands around the patient’s waist, give about five hard blows to their back, and dislodge the food or object. It is to note that a person’s body can only tolerate a lack of oxygen in their body for a maximum of five minutes. If the time exceeds, the person may also undergo brain damage.

Learn to Stop Bleeding

Many injuries cause a person to bleed. However, no matter the type of bleeding, your first goal must be to stop the bleeding at any cost. If a person’s injury is causing them to bleed continuously, chances are they are experiencing a hypovolemic shock. In this condition, the patient cannot pump sufficient blood throughout the body, leading to death. So put on your gloves and lay down the person bleeding excessively. Make sure to wipe out any dirt from the wound to avoid any infection. After that, put on pressure using a bandage or cloth for at least 15 to 20 minutes constantly. If the bleeding hasn’t stopped with this procedure, you need to apply pressure to the artery.

Treat a Burn

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 180,000 burns cases occur in low or middle-income states each year. However, the good news is burn is treatable. The reason for burn may vary from case to case. Some of the common causes may include electricity, corrosive chemicals, radiation, hot waters, etc. Most importantly, patients require medical attention for third-degree burns. The typical symptoms of third-degree burns include blisters, numbness, and white skin. To treat the burn, make sure to put a cool and clean moistened cloth in the burned area. Also, don’t forget to check the patient’s breathing. However, if the victim wears any restrictive items such as jewelry or belts, remove them carefully without hurting the burn. Furthermore, as a paramedics worker, you need to assure the patient doesn’t apply any ice or cream directly on the burn.

Key Takeaways

Most emergency calls are unclear since the person calling the emergency is in a state of panic and has no proper knowledge. The emergency case is also ever-changing. That is why any paramedic worker must stay adaptive to any emergency. The skill that is crucial for paramedic workers is to learn the patient assessment. The more reliable emergency care they can offer and save the life, the more the paramedic worker assesses the patient’s condition. Other personal skills for a paramedic’s worker may include communications, empathy, creativity, problem-solving, and situational awareness.