Principles of law

unit 3: disaster medical operations — part 1
in the aftermath of a magnitude 7.7 earthquake, you have ensured your safety and your family’s safety and you grab your cert kit and ppe. as you are making your way to your cert’s established meeting point, you come across a woman lying by the side of the road. you call out your name and affiliation and ask, “are you okay? ” there is no response.
1. based on what you know thus far, how should you proceed?
a. assume the woman is dead and continue to the cert meeting point b. call 9-1-1 on your cell phone immediately
c. assess for airway, bleeding, and signs of shock
d. make a note of the woman’s location and go for

you move closer to the survivor. once again, you ask, “can you hear me? are you okay? ” as you approach, you hear a very faint “ me,” and now that you are closer, you notice that that the survivor is bleeding heavily from a laceration on her thigh. you immediately attempt to call 9-1-1 on you cell phone but the system is down.
2. you know this woman is seriously injured. how would you her?
a. assess for the “three killers” systematically, starting with the airway
b. focus immediately on the most critical threat, the heavy bleeding
c. get blankets from your supply kit because this woman is clearly in shock
d. keep the woman company until more arrives
3. you notice that the blood is spurting from the laceration on the survivor’s inner thigh. what type of bleeding is this?
a. arterial
b. venous
c. capillary
d. mortal
4. what will you do to stop the bleeding?
a. apply a tourniquet
b. wrap the wound with the first piece of cloth you can find
c. elevate the survivor’s heart above the wound by having the woman sit up
d. using the sterile dressings in your supply kit, apply pressure directly to the wound

after a few moments, the bleeding slows considerably. you ask the woman, “are you okay? squeeze my hand if you can hear me.” she is only able to groan unintelligibly in response. you notice that her fingers are cold — despite soaring temperatures — when she tries to squeeze your hand.
5. the signs and symptoms that you witness tell you that this woman is suffering from what?
a. low blood sugar
b. shock due to inadequate blood flow
c. malnourishment
d. shock due to the extreme stress of the situation
6. how would you treat the woman based on your findings?
a. wrap her in something warm
b. tell her to go to sleep
c. ask her to hold the dressing in place while you search for
d. give her food and water
7. if asked to triage the woman, how would you tag her?
a. with a tag signifying “immediate”
b. with a tag signifying “delayed”
c. with a tag signifying “minor”
d. with a tag signifying “dead”