This chapter from Outdoor Emergency Care: A Patroller's Guide to Medical Care (6th edition) outlines the foundational principles and practical aspects of the National Ski Patrol's (NSP) Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) program. It details the resources available for both instructors and students, including textbooks, online materials, and multimedia. The lesson plan emphasizes key objectives for OEC Technicians, such as understanding the program's history, the certification process, and critical legal and ethical considerations like Good Samaritan laws, abandonment, negligence, and patient consent. Ultimately, the document serves as a comprehensive guide for those training to provide prehospital emergency care in diverse outdoor settings, bridging the gap between urban medical services and wilderness rescue.

This chapter from Outdoor Emergency Care: A Patroller's Guide to Medical Care (6th edition) outlines the essential components and principles of Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) for technicians and ski patrollers. It details the resources available for both instructors and students, including textbooks, online modules, and skill guides, to facilitate learning. The core objectives emphasize understanding attributes of emergency care systems, different prehospital provider levels, types of medical oversight, and the purpose of quality improvement. Crucially, it highlights the history and evolution of emergency care systems, emphasizing the coordinated, organized, and continuously improving nature of patient care from initial contact to definitive treatment, particularly in outdoor, non-urban settings where OEC technicians often operate. The text also elaborates on the 14 attributes of effective EMS as outlined by NHTSA, such as integration of health services, medical direction, communication, and public access, alongside different levels of emergency personnel and the vital role of medical oversight and protocols in ensuring consistent, high-quality care.

This chapter from Outdoor Emergency Care: A Patroller's Guide to Medical Care (6th edition) outlines essential preparedness for Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) technicians. It emphasizes the importance of self-care, detailing requirements for mental and physical well-being, including proper clothing, nutrition, hydration, and avoiding impairing substances, especially when working in diverse outdoor conditions. A major focus is placed on patient and rescuer safety through understanding disease transmission, defining key terms like pathogen and hazardous materials, and implementing standard precautions and personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent infection. Finally, the text briefly touches on the proper handling of crime scenes to preserve the chain of custody.

This chapter from Outdoor Emergency Care: A Patroller's Guide to Medical Care (6th edition) outlines the crucial frameworks for managing emergencies and triaging patients, particularly in scenarios with multiple casualties. It introduces the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and its core component, the Incident Command System (ICS), detailing the five functional areas—Incident Command, Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration—that ensure an organized and efficient response. Furthermore, the text thoroughly explains different triage systems, such as SALT and START, which are vital for rapidly assessing and prioritizing patients for treatment and transport in mass casualty incidents, emphasizing techniques like "30-2-Can Do" for quick evaluation. The overarching purpose is to equip Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) technicians with the knowledge and skills to effectively handle complex emergency situations.

This chapter from Outdoor Emergency Care: A Patroller's Guide to Medical Care (6th edition) outlines essential techniques for moving, lifting, and transporting patients in various emergency scenarios, emphasizing the paramount importance of rescuer safety through proper body mechanics. It details specific methods for patient movement, differentiating between urgent and non-urgent situations, and providing clear guidance on techniques like the power grip and power lift. A significant portion of the text is dedicated to explaining different lifts, such as the extremity lift or direct ground lift, with crucial distinctions made for patients with and without suspected spinal injuries. Finally, the chapter covers the appropriate use of diverse transport equipment like backboards and toboggans, alongside critical considerations for packaging a patient and ensuring helicopter safety during air transport.

This chapter from Outdoor Emergency Care: A Patroller's Guide to Medical Care (6th edition) serves as a foundational guide to human anatomy and physiology for emergency care technicians. Its primary purpose is to equip students with the essential knowledge of body structures and functions necessary for effective patient assessment and communication. The text systematically covers various body systems, including the respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, digestive, urinary, endocrine, integumentary, skeletal, muscular, reproductive, lymphatic, and immune systems, detailing their components, functions, and interconnections. Emphasis is placed on understanding anatomical terms, body directions, and movements to accurately describe injuries and communicate with other medical personnel. The chapter also highlights the crucial role of this knowledge in recognizing and managing injuries and illnesses.

This chapter from Outdoor Emergency Care: A Patroller's Guide to Medical Care (6th edition) emphasizes a systematic approach to evaluating individuals in emergency situations. It details five critical steps: scene size-up, primary patient assessment, history taking, secondary patient assessment, and reassessment, ensuring no crucial medical information is overlooked. The text provides specific objectives for OEC Technicians, including demonstrating assessment techniques, understanding the importance of controlling major bleeding as a first step, and differentiating between signs and symptoms. Additionally, it lists essential key terms and offers detailed explanations of how to assess vital signs, perform physical examinations, and utilize mnemonics like SAMPLE and OPQRST to gather comprehensive patient history and manage critical situations effectively.

This chapter from Outdoor Emergency Care: A Patroller's Guide to Medical Care (6th edition)  focuses on the critical importance of effective communication and detailed documentation for Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) technicians. It outlines various resources available for both instructors and students, emphasizing the need for OEC technicians to proficiently use oral communication, including specific techniques like the SAILER acronym for dispatch reports and concise handoff reports for other medical personnel, and written documentation, such as field care notes, incident report forms, and comprehensive patient care reports (PCRs). The text highlights that all medical communication must adhere to patient privacy rules and be factual, accurate, complete, unbiased, and error-free to serve both medical treatment and legal purposes. Ultimately, the goal is to create a clear and consistent "clinical picture" of the patient's condition and care, ensuring seamless transitions of care and thorough record-keeping.

This chapter from Outdoor Emergency Care: A Patroller's Guide to Medical Care (6th edition) serves as a vital instructional guide for Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) Technicians on how to effectively manage a patient's airway in various emergency scenarios. It systematically covers the anatomy and physiology of the airway, detailing essential components like the epiglottis and the mechanics of breathing. The core of the text focuses on practical skills, including manual techniques to open and clear the airway—such as the head tilt-chin lift and jaw-thrust maneuvers, and methods like finger sweeps and suctioning—as well as the use of airway adjuncts like oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal airways. Furthermore, it thoroughly explains oxygen therapy, outlining equipment, safety protocols, indications for use, and different delivery devices, all aimed at ensuring patients receive adequate oxygenation when their breathing is compromised.

This chapter from Outdoor Emergency Care: A Patroller's Guide to Medical Care (6th edition) outlines a comprehensive educational module on shock for Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) Technicians. The document emphasizes defining shock as inadequate perfusion, or blood flow, to the cells, which leads to insufficient oxygen delivery. It details the three primary causes of shock: pump failure (heart), blood vessel dysfunction, and low fluid volume, and further elaborates on four major types: hypovolemic, cardiogenic, distributive, and obstructive shock. Crucially, the plan distinguishes between compensated and decompensated shock, highlighting the body's initial ability to mask serious conditions and the rapid, often irreversible, deterioration in later stages, underscoring the importance of early recognition and management of classic signs and symptoms like tachycardia and pale skin.