How to open the airway (head tilt and jaw thrust)
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.
In an unresponsive patient the tongue blocks the airway. Opening it is the first life-saving skill.
Step by step
Head tilt-chin lift
Hand on the forehead, fingertips under the bony chin, tilt and lift. [1]
Jaw thrust
For suspected spinal injury: fingers behind the angles of the jaw, push forward without moving the neck. [1]
Look in the mouth
Remove visible objects; suction fluids. [1]
Check breathing
Look, listen, feel for no more than 10 seconds. [1]
Keep it open
Adjunct if no gag reflex. [1]
Ventilate
If breathing is not adequate. [1]
Common errors
- Pressing on soft tissue under the chin.
- Tilting the head with a spinal injury.
- Blind sweeps.
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
- Opioid overdose in the waiting room
- Altered mental status, unknown cause
- Hypoglycemia, unresponsive
- Airway management, unresponsive patient
- Blocked tracheostomy
- Facial trauma with airway risk
8 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library
Sources
Facts and steps follow NASEMSO National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines; NREMT psychomotor skill sheets (EMT and Paramedic). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.