5 Definitive Steps in Administering Basic Life Support to Adults

Nov 1, 2021

Emergency situations can happen anytime and anywhere. Even those that are working in the medical field are not immune to experiencing accidents and injuries. This is why it is important to learn how to administer BLS for healthcare providers. Below, we share the simple steps when giving BLS to a victim in an emergency situation.

Note that while these steps are effective, it is still a better idea to get yourself educated and enrolled in a proper BLS course and get your certification.

Step #1 – Scene Safety

This is self-explanatory. Before you even give BLS to a victim, you should first make sure that the vicinity is safe for both you and the victim.

Step #2 – Check Responsiveness

If there is no response from the victim, do the following:

Call for help nearby.
Call the emergency response unit.
When you are alone, prioritize calling the emergency response unit and securing the AED before resorting to CPR for adults and children.
When someone is with you, tell them to call the emergency response unit and fetch the AED for you. Never leave the victim unattended as much as possible.

Step #3 – Assess Breathing

Check if the victim is breathing. Then, take 10 seconds to check his or her pulse. If the pulse and breathing are normal and stable, continue to monitor until professional help arrives.

Step #4 – Abnormal Breathing

When the breathing of the victim is abnormal, do the following:

Give rescue breaths. The ratio should be one breath every five seconds.
Call the emergency response unit after two minutes of rescue breathing.
Continue to give rescue breaths and check the pulse every two minutes. If there is still no pulse present, begin doing CPR.

Step #5 – No Breathing and Pulse

When the victim is not breathing and there is no pulse observed, do the following:

Begin administering high-quality CPR. The compressions-to-breaths ratio should be 30-to-2.
Check the victim’s pulse every two minutes. Additionally, check for switch compressors and rhythm.
Use an AED when possible. If there is a shockable rhythm, do defibrillation and start CPR immediately.
Remember that high-quality CPR and changing the administrator of CPR every two minutes will improve the chances of the victims to survive.

Guideline Changes

In the past decade, there are a few changes that were made in the standards of administering BLS.

Checking the pulse and breathing should now be made in less than ten seconds.
When a cardiac arrest happens because of an initial non-shockable rhythm, administer epinephrine whenever possible.
Give an education of opioid overdose which can be alone or paired with naloxone training and distribution.
For pregnant victims, a manual left uterine displacement would be more beneficial in alleviating the aortocaval compression when chest compressions are made if the height of the fundus is higher than the umbilicus.
These are just some simple steps when administering BLS for healthcare providers. There are more detailed steps that you should learn to properly provide quality rescue to victims. You can learn this by enrolling yourself in a proven and tested BLS course.

Conclusion- Steps To Giving Basic Life Support

These are just some simple steps when administering BLS for healthcare providers. There are more detailed steps that you should learn to provide quality rescue to victims properly. You can learn this by enrolling yourself in a proven and tested BLS course.

If you’re concerned about your ability to respond in an emergency, you should consider getting your BLS certification. Taking a BLS class will help sharpen your skills and give you the skills you need to save someone’s life if you find they’re in danger. Join the American Health Care Academy today!

Learn, Enjoy and Save Life. HealthForce Training Center offer services such as Basic Life Support (BLS), Advance Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advance Life Support (PALS), CPR AED, Pediatric First Aid CPR AED and First Aid CPR AED. Read more of our blogs.