"Demonstrate" versus "Show"

[DuctTape 1230]

11 hours ago, T2Eagle said:

6a. Demonstrate first aid for the following:

• Object in the eye
• Bite of a warm-blooded animal
• Puncture wounds from a splinter, nail, and fishhook
• Serious burns (partial thickness, or second-degree)
• Heat exhaustion
• Shock
• Heatstroke, dehydration, hypothermia, and hyperventilation

6b. Show what to do for “hurry” cases of stopped breathing, stroke, severe bleeding, and ingested poisoning.

 

These are the First Aid requirements for Second Class, for the life of me I cannot think of any reason you couldn't substitute Demonstrate for Show, and vice versa, and end up with any different actions for completing it.

 

The difference in verbiage is probably not purposeful and is most  likely a reflection of different committees making slight variations in requirements, iteration after iteration.

 

What does your scouter friend think is the difference?

In the first, demonstrate means the scout performs the first aid on a simulated patient. Actually dresses the (fake) wound, etc...

In the second, show (not demonstrate) is because it is not appropriate to actually perform rescue breathing, etc...

[T2Eagle 902]

Here's the Mayo Clinic directions for helping someone else with an object in the eye.  How many folks have actually had a scout flush another person's eye?  Make another person drink to demonstrate how to treat dehydration?  The latter, maybe, the former is a bad idea.

• Wash your hands with soap and water.
• Seat the person in a well-lighted area.
• Gently examine the eye to find the object. Pull the lower lid down and ask the person to look up. Then hold the upper lid while the person looks down.
• If the object is floating in the tear film on the surface of the eye, try using a medicine dropper filled with clean, warm water to flush it out. Or tilt the head back and irrigate the surface of the eye with clean water from a drinking glass or a gentle stream of tap water.

The difference in these two requirements isn't the verb it's the nature of the different illness or injury and understanding their severity and urgency.  

Specifically describe what you think "show" treatment for shock would be compared to "demonstrate" treatment for shock.

[DuctTape 1230]

to demonstrate "object in eye"... as with all depends if severity to demonstrate...

1. tell the person to blink their eyes to force tears to flush. 2. Pull upper lid over lower lid to attempt to "use eyelashes to brush out" object. Scout can demonstrate these with themselves. 3. Flushing is not demonstrated with actual water, but the technique can be demonstrated.

 

For shock, (spinal, neck injury precautions taken into accout) the scout can demonstrate by: (fake) dial 911, helping the victim into a reclining position. Elevate their legs. Maintain body temperature, with blanket. "tester" tells the scout the victim has vomited... the scout should then turn their head to the side. (spinal, neck injury precautions taken into accout)

 

But I agree with the assessment that the verb used isn't what is most important. 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by DuctTape

[NJCubScouter 1389]

I don't think "show" and "demonstrate" necessarily mean different things.  The meaning of each one may be affected by the specific thing you are expected to "show" or "demonstrate" but I do not think that in any of the instances mentioned here, what the Scout is required to do would be affected by using the other word instead.  (I use both words quite often in legal writing, and I use them interchangeably, for whatever that's worth.)