Participants in this course will learn to recognize a first aid crisis, initiate a chain to call for professional help, and have enough training to overcome that universal hesitation to step in and help in a medical emergency. You will learn about common medical emergencies such as asthma, heart attack, choking, allergic reactions, stroke, and diabetes. We will teach you to recognize, understand, and treat injuries, including internal injury and fractures. You will practice splinting and bandaging and learn updated information and techniques to control bleeding. We also teach about environmental emergencies such as bites and stings, as well as cold and heat injury.
Participants will learn their role in initiating treatment to reduce pain and protect the subject from further harm until referral to medical personnel if appropriate. Participants should be able to develop confidence that their intervention will “do no harm” but rather be the beginning of a healing process. It is normal to want to help but feel a reluctance based on lack of knowledge. We aim to fix that.
Participants will learn how to evaluate the situation for safety, recognize the potential seriousness of some conditions, initiate calls to EMS services and provide proven methods of help as the first person stepping to the plate (ie. Practicing First Aid).
Students will develop a new appreciation that they can function within the health system as one who came forward to offer psychological and physical support to a distressed subject. As I tell our Search and Rescue volunteers, you are rarely alone. There is usually a 911 call to help back up your initial assessment and decisions. Transferring care to a new medical provider by handing off the responsibility is stressed.
This certification course is for anyone interested in being in a position to help their friends, family, and public if a medical emergency presents itself. Anyone interested in learning
