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Emergencies and resuscitation

How to pack a bleeding wound

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

Nursing (NCLEX)EMS (NREMT)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Wound packing stops bleeding in places where a tourniquet cannot go, like the groin, armpit and neck.

Step by step

  1. Protect and expose

    Gloves, expose the wound. [1]

  2. Find the source

    Wipe away pooled blood to see where it comes from. [1]

  3. Pack

    Push gauze (hemostatic if available) with a finger directly onto the bleeding point and keep filling the wound tightly. [1]

  4. Hold pressure

    Firmly for at least 3 minutes (longer with plain gauze). [1]

  5. Pressure dressing

    Over the packing. [1]

  6. Shock care

    Warmth, oxygen, rapid transport. [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

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

Sources

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

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.