Scenario: Head trauma and shock

Facilitator:
Patients:
Time: 20 mins; 1420-1440
Actual time:
Learning Objectives:
Materials: Make-up; fast-packs: non-latex gloves in baggies, bandaids, rolled gauze, 4x4s in baggie, ace wraps, triangle bandages, non-sterile 4x4s in baggie, duct tape, hand warmer/cold pack, medical tape, trash bag (for poncho) in baggie.

Tell everyone:

On May Day, a few people climb some scaffolding on the 16th Street Mall in Denver to drop an anti-sweatshop banner 20 feet above the street. It is a windy day, and the banner is tangled and hard to unfurl. A construction worker at the site grabs one of the banner-hangers and tries to pull her down. She loses her stance on the scaffolding ladder, but keeps a grip on the banner as she falls, pulling other banner-hangers off the scaffolding with her. The steel pipe weighing down the banner slides out of its pocket 20 feet up, and strikes a person below.

Tell medics and patients:

If medics need information about the status of the person they are treating, medics can ask them. For example, when assessing breathing, medics can say, "I am looking, listening, and feeling for breathing. What do I find?" and the patient can answer.

Patients

  1. Unconscious, breathing fine, MOI unknown but if other people are asked this person was the one the construction worker grabbed.

  2. Broken forearm, twisted ankle, lots of cuts and scrapes but doesn't initially notice his condition (concerned about other people) -- was on the ground when a person fell on him, knocking him over. Has Hep C.

  3. Severe abdominal bruises (pitched face-first off scaffold, caught a newspaper box in the gut on the way down, whiplash), MOI for c-spine, does not what a man to touch her and sure as shit doesn't want a man looking under her shirt.

  4. Livestreamer. Brand new iPad's screen was cracked when somebody fell on him. Bruises. If you give him something useful to do, he will stop being pissed about the iPad and will be a big help.

  5. Homeless person. Head injury with scalp laceration from corner of falling steel pipe. Disoriented, irritable, combative, may be mistaken for drunk.

  6. MOI for c-spine (jumped when he lost his footing, landed on feet on sidewalk from 20 foot fall, possible undetected closed lower leg fracture), awake, no respiratory issues, wants to leave scene ASAP because has a warrant out for arrest.

  7. Very upset, faints, no obvious cause (dehydration, shock position).

  8. Friend of 7, also very upset. If calmed down and asked, 7 did not fall and was not injured by anything.

  9. Older person with severe COPD,1 has significant increase in shortness of breath.

Other Actors

  • Different construction worker, knows CPR, just ran across street to help.

  • Building security wants to know what happened, questions qualifications of medics.

  1. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Patient probably has oxygen tank with him. Usual symptoms include: chronic cough, cough with mucous, shortness of breath, reduced ability to exercise, fatigue, repeated flare-ups. Flare-up symptoms include: Reduced airflow in lungs -- hard to breathe, wheezing, difficulty catching breath, coughing and coughing up mucous.↩