Emergencies and resuscitation

How to treat hypothermia

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.

MD / DOPANursing (NCLEX)EMS (NREMT)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Handle severely cold patients gently: rough movement can trigger cardiac arrest.

Step by step

  1. Stop heat loss

    Out of the cold, remove wet clothes, insulate, cover the head. [1]

  2. Gentle handling

    Keep horizontal, no rough movement. [1]

  3. Warm

    Warm packs to chest, armpits and groin; warm environment. [1]

  4. Drinks

    Warm sweet drinks only if alert and able to swallow. [1]

  5. Pulse check

    Check carefully and longer; start CPR if none. [1]

  6. Transport

    Severe cases need hospital rewarming. [1]

Common errors

Practice it in VMS

In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

VMS cases that train this skill

Sources

  1. NASEMSO National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines
  2. NREMT psychomotor skill sheets (EMT and Paramedic)

Facts and steps follow NASEMSO National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines; NREMT psychomotor skill sheets (EMT and Paramedic). VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.