First Aid/Secondary Assessment
Introduction — Issues in Providing Care — Primary Assessment & Basic Life Support — Secondary Assessment — Circulatory Emergencies
Respiratory Emergencies — Soft Tissue Injuries — Bone & Joint Injuries — Environmental Illness & Injury
Medical Conditions & Poisoning — Advanced Topics — Appendices — Meta content
The secondary assessment/survey is done once the primary survey is completed and non-life threatening injuries can be assessed. This survey can be performed after removing the athlete from the field. When performing this type of assessment it is vital for the clinician to gain as much information as possible in order to properly diagnose the injured person. This assessment involves many different things and can be done in steps. Clinicians should be sure to get a thorough history on the individual, a thorough description of what the person felt, feels, how they were injured, what hurts the most, where hurts the most, etc. Clinicians should also be able to determine if the individual has appropriate function of the injured area or if they are in need of EMS.
The secondary assessment is used after a primary assessment has been done. This is where the clinician goes through step by step head-to-toe to figure out what happened. This can include but is not limited to inspection, bony and soft tissue palpation, special tests, circulation, and neurological. Secondary assessments are used in order to determine the injury, how the injury occurred, how severe the injury is, and to eliminate further injury.