You have arrived on the scene to help a child who is short of breath. The mother is screaming hysterically that her 3-year-old boy cannot breathe, making assessment of the patient very difficult. Your initial action in the management of this situation would be to:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The best initial action in this situation is to have your partner talk to the mother and try to calm her down while you assess the child. It is important to try to obtain vital information from the mother about what led to the child's shortness of breath while trying to maintain a calming presence to decrease anxiety, which can exacerbate the child's symptoms. Removing the child quickly without obtaining any information or calming the parent down can result in incomplete or insufficient assessment, which can lead to missed findings or incorrect interventions. Threatening the mother or summoning the police can escalate the situation and is not a helpful approach.

You Have Arrived on the Scene to Help a Child