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EMS field skills

How to assist with nitroglycerin

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

EMS (NREMT)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Nitroglycerin relieves chest pain but can drop blood pressure. Check before each dose.

Step by step

  1. Confirm

    Prescribed to the patient, not expired, medical direction. [1]

  2. Blood pressure

    Systolic above the protocol limit (often 100 mmHg). [1]

  3. Erectile dysfunction drugs

    None in the last 24 to 48 hours. [1]

  4. Give

    One tablet or spray under the tongue. [1]

  5. Reassess

    Blood pressure and pain after each dose. [1]

  6. Repeat

    Every 5 minutes up to the protocol maximum (often 3). [1]

Common errors

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

21 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library

Sources

  1. NREMT psychomotor skill sheets (EMT and Paramedic)
  2. National EMS Education Standards (2021)

Facts and steps follow NREMT psychomotor skill sheets (EMT and Paramedic); National EMS Education Standards (2021). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.