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Sick Not Sick: A Guide to Rapid Patient Assessment

Overview

Sick Not Sick is designed to help EMS personnel develop rapid patient assessment skills.  The program distills years of field experience into a workable formula that both inexperienced and experienced providers can use in the field.  It teaches EMS personnel how to quickly collect information and discriminate the important from the unimportant to offer immediate initial care based upon his or her observations.  After all, in EMS it comes down to whether the patient is sick or not sick. This book is part of the EMS Continuing Education Series.  As an EMS provider, you know that your education does not stop when you finish your initial training. The things you learn in the field and in continuing education classes give you the extra skills and knowledge to make you the best provider you can be. The EMS Continuing Education Series was created to help you take that extra step toward not just being a great provider, but an outstanding one.  Managing Stress in Emergency Medical Services is also part of this series.

ShowKey Features

Online pre-tests to highlight areas where students need work, Web links to enhance information found in the book, and changing case studies.
Scenarios and case studies for students to practice with and for you to evaluate their comprehension of material.
Skill checklists to test rapid assessment ability.
Adult and pediatric review questions and adult and pediatric quizzes for you to evaluate your students' mastery of material.
Adaptable PowerPoint presentations to provide you with a powerful way to make educational and engaging presentations.

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ShowTable of Contents

Chapter 1: Why Sick/Not Sick?
Chapter 2: Sick/Not Sick in a Nutshell
Chapter 3: While En Route
Chapter 4: The Clinical Picture
Chapter 5: Make a Decision
Chapter 6: What If You Make the Wrong Decision?
Chapter 7: Pediatric Sick/Not Sick
Chapter 8: The Pediatric Triangle
Appendix A: Case Studies
Appendix B: Quizzes
Appendix C: Skills Checklist
Appendix D: Answer Key


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ShowAbout the Author(s)

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) provides education and practice management services for orthopaedic surgeons and allied health professionals. The Academy also serves as an advocate for improved patient care and informs the public about the science of orthopaedics. Founded at Northwestern University as a not-for-profit organization in 1933, the Academy has grown from a small organization serving less than 500 members to the world's largest medical association of musculoskeletal specialists. The Academy now serves about 24,000 members internationally.

Additional Titles by this Author

Mike Helbock, MICP, NREMT-P

Mike Helbock is an EMS educator, author, and Senior Paramedic. He is the Director of EMS Training and Education for EMS Associates. He is a Washington State and nationally certified Senior Paramedic and EMS instructor, and for the past 27 years has served in Seattle/King County as a paramedic, senior instructor and class coordinator of emergency medical training courses. He is a nationally/internationally recognized lecturer on prehospital medicine, and throughout this book he draws on his more than 30 years of field experience as a Senior Firefighter/Paramedic for the City of Bellevue Fire Department in Washington State. Additionally, Mike has spent the past 7 years as the EMS Training and Education Manager for Seattle/King County EMS, Division of Emergency Medicine.

Additional Titles by this Author

John M. Jerin

John M. Jerin has over 20 years of experience as a writer and instructional designer, and has developed dozens of courses on EMS and fire service topics. He serves as an advisor to organizations worldwide in the application of technology to training and instruction. John is the author of EMS training software programs and web sites. He holds a Master's degree in Instruction Systems Technology from Indiana University.

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ShowReviews

  • "Each section [of Sick Not Sick] is well written and rich with illustrations, photos, and case histories to support the teaching points for medical, trauma, and pediatric patients...Sick Not Sick would make a very worthy addition to any first responder, EMT, paramedic, or EMS organization's resource library."

    EMS Magazine, June 2003

    "Sick Not Sick is a great patient assessment book that can be used in most of our courses. This book is a great educational resource tool!" 

    Jamie Kitchen, Genesys Regional Medical Center, Grand Blanc, MI 


    "When describing Sick Not Sick to others I often say that it is 'real world' EMS, meaning that it came from the streets.  This concept of rapid patient assessment has been more than four years in the making and distills more than 20 years of field experience into it.  This programs was born out of the need to focus the EMS provider into making rapid, accurate assessment decisions within a minute of patient contact.  This rapid decision making helps guide the remaining 15-minute window that many EMS professionals have to perform their skills! 

    The Sick Not Sick program was first introduced in King County, Washington and taught to both the Bellevue and Seattle Fire Departments as part of their continuing emergency medical education program.  The success of Sick Not Sick was immediate and quickly spread to surrounding departments and eventually across the State of Washington. 

    My only hope is that you too will find this as helpful as others have.  Our goal in EMS has forever been clear...'take care of others as though they were part of your family.'  Using that approach and the Sick Not Sick concept, your decisions will be rapid, accurate, and patient-care directed.  Be safe. . . 

    -Mike Helbock, M.I.C.P.
    Author of Sick Not Sick

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