How to ventilate with a two-person BVM
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.
Two-person BVM gives a better seal and better breaths than one person.
Step by step
Airway
Open and insert an adjunct. [1]
Seal
One rescuer holds the mask with both hands and lifts the jaw. [1]
Squeeze
The other squeezes over about 1 second. [1]
Rate
One breath every 6 seconds in adults with a pulse. [2]
Oxygen
15 L/min with reservoir. [1]
Check
Chest rise, saturation, capnography. [1]
Common errors
- Too fast.
- Poor seal.
- Too much volume.
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
- Suicide attempt by overdose
- Unknown overdose (tricyclic)
- Stimulant overdose
- Beta-blocker overdose
- Calcium channel blocker overdose
9 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library
Sources
- NREMT psychomotor skill sheets (EMT and Paramedic)
- AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC
- 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.