Describe the assessment and management of patients with special challenges.

Description should include

  • the recognition and reporting of abuse and neglect
  • abuse/intimate partner violence
  • neglect
  • child/dependent adult maltreatment
  • homelessness
  • poverty
  • bariatrics
  • technology dependent (locally determined)
  • hospice/terminally ill
  • tracheostomy care/dysfunction
  • homecare
  • sensory deficit/loss
  • developmental disability
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • orthotics/prosthetics.

Process/Skill Questions:

  • How does an EMT correctly and appropriately assess and manage a patient with special challenges?
  • What clues would indicate that a patient is hearing impaired?
  • Why would airway management be more difficult in a patient with Down syndrome?
  • What is the best approach to take when interacting with a patient who has special challenges?