How to assess a burn (size and depth)
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.
Burn size and depth decide treatment and transfer. Check the airway first.
Step by step
Stop the burning
Remove from source, remove clothing and jewelry, cool with running water for 20 minutes. [1]
Airway
Burns of the face, singed nose hair, soot, hoarse voice: risk of airway swelling. [1]
Size
Rule of nines in adults: head 9%, each arm 9%, front 18%, back 18%, each leg 18%. Patient's palm is about 1%. [1]
Depth
Superficial (red, no blisters), partial thickness (blisters, painful), full thickness (white or leathery, painless). [1]
Special areas
Face, hands, feet, genitals, joints, circumferential burns. [1]
Keep warm and transfer
Cover with clean dry dressing, prevent hypothermia, follow transfer criteria. [1]
Common errors
- Ice on the burn.
- Counting superficial burns in the size.
- Missing the airway.
Practice it in Making Synapses
In Making Synapses 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.
Making Synapses cases that train this skill
- Burns of both legs
- Gastroesophageal reflux
- Burns, field care
- Chemical burn to the skin
- Cyanide poisoning from smoke
- Pepper spray exposure
30 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library
Sources
- NASEMSO National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines
- NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint
- Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam)
- Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint; Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.