What steps should you follow to perform a secondary assessment?

Performing a secondary assessment is an essential part of providing care in first aid. The process typically involves gathering more detailed information about the patient’s condition after a primary assessment has been completed.

Asking SAMPLE questions is a critical component in this phase. SAMPLE stands for Signs and Symptoms, Allergies, Medications, Past medical history, Last oral intake, and Events leading up to the injury or illness. Each element of SAMPLE helps form a more complete picture of the patient’s health, which is crucial for understanding their medical history and the context of their current condition. This information can guide subsequent treatment and interventions effectively.

While the other options involve important elements of patient assessment and monitoring, they are not the primary focus of the secondary assessment. Monitoring vital signs and checking for consciousness are more aligned with the initial primary assessment to ensure the patient's immediate life threats are identified. Similarly, assessing blood pressure and pulse rate is a specific part of vital signs monitoring that may not capture the broader range of health information that SAMPLE questions provide. Lastly, assessing surroundings can be important for safety and context, but it does not directly contribute to understanding the patient's health status in the same way that SAMPLE questions do.

Thus, the use of SAMPLE questions aligns best with the objective of