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Emergencies and resuscitation

How to run a cardiac arrest code

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

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

A calm leader and clear roles make a code work.

Step by step

  1. Lead

    Say you are leading; assign compressions, airway, monitor, drugs, recorder. [1]

  2. CPR quality

    Rate, depth, recoil, minimal pauses, switch every 2 minutes; capnography. [1]

  3. Rhythm every 2 minutes

    Shock ventricular fibrillation or pulseless VT right away. [1]

  4. Drugs

    Epinephrine every 3 to 5 minutes; amiodarone or lidocaine for shockable rhythms per guidelines. [1]

  5. Causes

    Hypoxia, hypovolemia, acidosis, potassium, hypothermia, tension, tamponade, toxins, thrombosis. [1]

  6. Communicate and debrief

    Closed-loop orders; debrief after. [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

Sources

  1. AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC
  2. NASEMSO National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines
  3. NREMT psychomotor skill sheets (EMT and Paramedic)

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.