Broken Wrist or Ulna/Radius

How long it’ll take:

75 minutes

Age:

5th-7th Grade

What the goal is:

The campers should develop basic first aid skills.

What the objectives are:

In a given first aid scenario, they should be able to identify “stop” and “go” aspects to the Scene Size Up. They should also be able to identify things that are included as a “stop and deal” item during the ABC’s. Campers should have experience building a small splint for a broken wrist or ulna/radius.

What you’ll need:

Moulage kit

Cravats

Broken wrist/ulna/radius information cards

SAM splints

Ace bandages

What you’ll do:

Introduction (10 min)

1. Come up with a story for your group to set the stage for the injury.

• Ex: You are part of an incredibly highly trained and experienced Search & Rescue team. Other teams across the world look to your group for advice and training. Because of your expertise, you get called on incredibly remote and potentially dangerous missions. You’ve been summoned to help with a rescue involving a lost group of snow bikers in Antarctica. There were only a handful of people in the missing group, but they have spent considerable time outside, exposed to the cold temperatures without the proper gear.” (Begin with one instructor with signs and symptoms of superficial frostbite. They can stumble in to the group, you hand them some supplies and “notice” their signs and symptoms, etc.)

2. The other instructor should go through a complete patient assessment system (get various campers to help you with aspects where you need multiple sets of hands)

   1. Scene Size Up

   2. ABC’s

   3. Head to Toe

   4. Vital Signs

   5. SAMPLE history

   6. Planning

   7. Treatment

3. Explain that what you just did was advanced first aid and response. What you’ll be teaching them today is just a piece of the entire process. After the day is over, they should have a bit of experience with broken arms and legs. Emphasize that this is NOT formal first aid training, and calling an adult or a trained emergency responder should always be their first go-to in any first aid situation. If they get really excited and interested by the day’s mini-training, provide them with information on local Community First Aid and WFA courses.

Scene Size Up and ABC’s (5 minutes)

4. Ask the campers, “Why is it important to make sure the scene is safe before trying to help someone who’s hurt?” Give several examples of scenes and have the campers yell “safe” or “not safe” after you’re done explaining. Make them as ridiculous as you see fit.

5. Ask the campers, “Why is it important to make sure someone can breathe and that they’re not bleeding profusely before you help fix their broken arm?”

Broken wrist or ulna/radius (20 minutes)

6. Divide the group into two. Each of the sub-groups will be presenting information on either a broken wrist or a broken ulna/radius. Give the sub-groups the information cards on these two conditions. Give each sub group time to come up with a skit in which someone breaks their wrist/arm, someone else identifies their condition based on signs and symptoms, and then they receive proper treatment. Make sure each sub-group has plenty of time to practice proper splinting and sling techniques. Each sub-group will present their skit to the overall group.

Entire scenario (15 minutes)

7. Continue the story: “The remaining members of the lost party have been found, yet their injuries are more substantial. It seems as though they were involved in a big bike crash and need you help!”

8. Take a few campers away with you and give them a story and create either a broken wrist or a broken ulna/radius on them using the moulage kit to create bruising

9. Partner up the rest of the group as “responders”. Play a short game if you have time.

10. Make sure everyone checks to see if the scene is safe before treating their patient. Also make sure everyone sees that their patient can breathe and is not bleeding profusely before treating their patient.

11. Encourage them to try to figure out what injury their patient has

12. Encourage them to “treat” their patients by creating a proper splint/sling

13. Once everyone is done, have each partner pair present their patient, describe their signs and symptoms, share their theory of what injury they had, and show off the splint/sling that they created