Victim Assessment Trios: Check Response and Breathing
In groups of three, students practice the primary assessment of a person who has collapsed: check for a response, open the airway, and check breathing. Each case ends with a decision said out loud: monitor, recovery position, or CPR.
How to play
- Demo (4 min): tap the shoulders and shout, open the airway with a head-tilt/chin-lift, and check breathing for 10 seconds (look, listen, and feel).
- Trios with one mat: victim, rescuer, and observer. The victim draws a scenario card, reads it secretly, and lies down.
- On the whistle, the rescuer checks that the scene is safe and runs the sequence out loud. The victim responds as the card says: talks, breathes visibly, or shows no chest movement.
- The rescuer announces a decision: monitor, call 911 and use the recovery position, or call 911 and start CPR.
- The observer checks the back of the card and awards a point if sequence and decision are right. Rotate after each 90-second case: nine cases per trio (13 min).
- Wrap-up (3 min): discuss the most common mistakes.
Rules
- Simulate the head-tilt/chin-lift gently; never force a partner's neck.
- Tap the shoulders; never shake the head.
- Say every step out loud, and observers don't give away answers.
Variations
Easier
Use only two card types: responds or does not respond.
Standard
Use three cases: responsive, unresponsive and breathing, unresponsive and not breathing.
Harder
Add a hazard on scene or a second victim.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: work with a victim seated on a bench at the student's height.
- Autism or shyness: start as observer and use a written checklist of the sequence.
- Advanced students: get cards with distractors, such as a victim who mumbles.
Learning goals
- Perform the response, airway, and breathing checks in order.
- Choose the right action based on the victim's condition.
- Evaluate a classmate's performance objectively.
Equipment for a class of 25
- mats: 9
- scenario cards: 27
Teacher tip
The typical error is checking breathing before opening the airway, or counting less than 10 seconds. Print the answer on the back of each card so observers can work independently.
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