Handling Medical Emergencies

About This Course

What would you do if a member of your family suffered a medical emergency? You could certainly call for trained emergency medical responders, but what would you do while you're waiting for them to arrive?

Every second counts during a medical emergency. Recognizing the early signs and symptoms of common medical conditions and providing appropriate treatment can mean a better outcome for the patient. Early recognition and intervention can greatly reduce the seriousness of the illness, which means a shorter hospital stay and lower medical costs. It's also very satisfying to know how to help someone in a time of need.

This course will identify common medical emergencies affecting children and adults, help you recognize signs and symptoms, and teach you how to render appropriate emergency care. For adults, you will learn how to recognize and manage chest pain, heart attack, stroke, diabetic problems, seizures, breathing difficulty, burns, and allergic reactions. For children, you will also learn about poisoning, fever, childhood illnesses, injuries from accidents, and the signs of abuse.

About The Instructor

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Bryan Scyphers.

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Bryan Scyphers.

Bryan Scyphers is a Nationally Registered Paramedic who has provided emergency medical care for over 35 years. A former student trainer for Virginia Tech's football team and a trainer with the San Francisco Giants baseball organization, he is also experienced in sports medicine. Bryan holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Education, has taught pre-hospital emergency medicine at the college level for many years, and has trained hundreds of Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics. He has responded to over 8,000 calls for medical assistance and currently serves with the US Department of Health and Human Services' National Disaster Medical System, responding to natural and man-made disasters throughout the country.

Syllabus

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week 1

Wednesday - Lesson 01

Every day, thousands of medical emergencies occur in the United States. In our first lesson, you'll learn what happens when someone dials 911 to report the emergency. You'll see how emergency 911 operators do their jobs, who will respond to the emergency, and what will happen after emergency medical services personnel arrive at the scene. We'll also explore how you can help without exposing yourself to legal liability. Then, we'll start going over the human body so you'll know why your organs work like they do!

Friday - Lesson 02

Today, you'll learn how to make sure you stay safe at the scene of an emergency—from watching out for traffic and identifying hazards, to protecting yourself from transmitted diseases. Then, you'll learn the ABCs of emergency care so you'll know what steps to take in order to help someone in need. Also, you'll see how to take a reading of a patient's respiration and pulse to determine if the heart and lungs are working normally.

Week 2

Wednesday - Lesson 03

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for adults in the USA. In today's lesson, you'll learn what causes heart disease and how you and your family can prevent it from happening to yourselves. We'll discuss angina and heart attacks, and I'll tell you why you may not want your family member to go to the closest hospital if you suspect they may be having heart problems!

Friday - Lesson 04

Would you know what to do if your child suddenly choked on a small toy or piece of food? Today's lesson addresses choking and breathing problems, the leading causes of accidental deaths in children. You'll also learn about asthma, emphysema, pneumonia, and carbon monoxide poisoning. And I'll show you how using everyday household cleaning products might be dangerous!

Week 3

Wednesday - Lesson 05

In this lesson, you'll learn all about the body's master organ—the brain! We'll discuss concussions, head injuries, seizures, and strokes. You'll see how the pupils of the eyes give you important information about brain function, and how to recognize the signs of a stroke, one of the most common events leading to adult disability.

Friday - Lesson 06

Do you know what the largest organ of the body is? Surprise—it's your skin! In today's lesson, we'll go over what happens when you injure your skin—whether you've scraped, cut, torn, punctured, or burned it. We'll also go over how to recognize the signs of bleeding, even if the bleeding is internal and out of your sight. You'll see how to stop all types of bleeding and how to treat all types of burns, including electrical, chemical, thermal, and even severe sunburns!

Week 4

Wednesday - Lesson 07

In today's lesson, you'll learn all about shock . . . not the electrical kind, but the type that prevents oxygen from getting to your body's cells. You'll learn how to recognize and treat shock caused by infections, allergic reactions, bleeding, breathing problems, diabetes, heart problems, spinal injuries, and simple fainting. You'll also see what to look for to determine if an unconscious person has a chronic medical problem, with no one around to tell you about it!

Friday - Lesson 08

Today, we'll go in depth to learn about underlying medical problems such as diabetes, gallstones, hepatitis, appendicitis, and kidney stones. You'll also learn about heat and cold emergencies, from heat exhaustion and heat stroke to frostbite and hypothermia. And you'll find out what's happening if your patient's eyeballs look yellow!

Week 5

Wednesday - Lesson 09

Almost 3 million children are victims of accidental poisoning each year. In this lesson, you'll learn how poisoning occurs—how it gets into a child's body through absorption, inhalation, ingestion, or injection. You'll see why poison control centers have been established throughout the country and how you can reach one using a single phone number. Most important, you'll learn what to do and what not to do before medical help arrives at your house.

Friday - Lesson 10

Today, we'll focus on injuries to the bones and joints. We'll explore fractures, sprains, and strains, as well as how to handle neck and back injuries without causing further harm to your patient. You'll learn how to use common items to make splints to stabilize an arm or leg until help arrives. Then, we'll talk about common sports injuries affecting adults and children. You'll also learn about athletic trainers and the roles they serve in organized team sports.

Week 6

Wednesday - Lesson 11

Children aren't just little adults! In this lesson, you'll learn how children react to injury and illness, and how you can interact with them during the various stages they go through as they grow up. You'll learn the differences in their anatomy as they get bigger, how their vital signs change, and how they're so much more susceptible to shock than adults are. And we'll explore common childhood emergencies such as infection, fever, and seizures. Then, we'll examine the early warning signs of substance abuse among teenagers and talk about a difficult topic—teen suicide and self-injury.

Friday - Lesson 12

In our final lesson, you'll learn about illnesses common to children—croup, epiglottitis, asthma, and meningitis. We'll also explore SIDS—Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and learn why researchers think it occurs and steps you can take to reduce its risk. We'll close by discussing the nationwide problem of child neglect and abuse, how to recognize the signs and symptoms of physical and sexual abuse, and why just one phone call can make a major positive step in an abused child's life!

Requirements

Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).