When an emergency arises, you need to act fast. When an emergency arises in front of you, you can ask them SAMPLE questions to get more information to give to medical services when they arrive.
SAMPLE helps you to remember the important questions to ask when assessing someone who may have been hurt or have an illness. Not only that, talking with the patient verbally can show signs of a stroke and help to reduce stress.
What are SAMPLE questions and how to use them in an emergency
If you see someone is showing signs and symptoms of a medical emergency, use the acronym SAMPLE to remember important questions to ask about their medical history to give to medical professionals. If the patient is unresponsive, ask a friend or family member that is present.
S – Signs and Symptoms
Ask, “How do you feel now?” to learn what the symptoms are. Make note of any signs of illness that you observe yourself.
A – Allergies
Does the patient have any known allergies? Are they allergic to any medications?
M – Medications
Find out if the patient is taking any medications and how recently they took their medication(s).
P – Pre-existing Medical Conditions
Ask the patient whether they have any pre-existing medical conditions that they are aware of. Take note of anything that the patient tells you of and give this information to the Emergency Medical Service workers upon arrival.
L – Last Meal
Knowing how recently the patient ate or drank something, and what it was they consumed, can also be helpful. If the patient has not eaten for 12 hours and is feeling dizzy, they might have low blood sugar. Diarrhea within 1-6 hours of eating might indicate food poisoning. Remember, however, you are not diagnosing, but rather collecting information.
E – Events Leading Up to the Injury or Illness
Asking the patient, “What you were doing when you began to feel ill?” can offer valued hints as to what led up to the patient feeling ill. If it is a warm day and the patient was expelling a lot of energy, they might be suffering from heatstroke or dehydration.
If the patient is unconscious or showing signs of a medical emergency, activating emergency medical services should be your first priority. SAMPLE questions are designed to help you get valuable information from breathing, conscious, patients to pass to professional medical responders, not to diagnose medical problems.
If you are in search of a company that does First Aid and Safety training, contact Wimbledon Training today.