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Emergencies and resuscitation

How to use the pediatric assessment triangle

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

The pediatric assessment triangle tells you how sick a child is before you touch them.

Step by step

  1. Appearance

    Tone, interaction, consolability, look or gaze, speech or cry. [1]

  2. Work of breathing

    Abnormal sounds, positioning, retractions, flaring, head bobbing. [1]

  3. Circulation to skin

    Pallor, mottling, blue color. [1]

  4. Put it together

    Breathing only: distress. Breathing and appearance: failure. Circulation: shock. Appearance only: brain or metabolic problem. [1]

  5. Act

    Start treatment and the hands-on assessment. [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

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

Sources

  1. NASEMSO National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines
  2. 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.