Many people walk into a first aid training course imagining a quick PowerPoint presentation and maybe a couple of practice bandaging moments. That’s not what they get.
Professional first aid training is hands-on from the get-go (almost). While some theory must be covered, you spend most of your time getting down on the floor with dummies, bandages and somewhat realistic situations. The idea is to create muscle memory and confidence so that if/when you ever get into a real situation, you don’t panic and forget what to do.
What It’s Like – Literally
The thing that most surprises people? You’ll be doing compressions on dummies until your arms want to fall off. CPR is not a quick demonstration where everyone gets one turn, it’s serious work as you get the depth right, the pace down and come to learn just how tiring it is to have to perform chest compressions for longer than one or two minutes at a time.
In fact, the dummies used in proper classes will give feedback – too shallow of a push and you will know it. Your hands are not situated correctly? The instructor will call you on it. This is the moment when people realize that what they’ve seen in television shows holds almost no weight in reality when it comes to good CPR. You’re pushing so hard that if this were an actual person, you’d shatter their ribs (it’s fine in real life as it’s better than letting someone die, but still shocking to learn).
The same goes for wound care, bandaging and learning how to actually immobilize injuries. Fractures should be set with pressure – there’s a difference between a loose wrap and one that maintains pressure. Most people discover how they are grossly underestimating how much pressure is required for medical interventions.
What You’ll Learn
Not all first aid training sessions are alike. For example, basic emergency qualification courses tend to run one day and cover only those issues that require life-saving measures in the moment – bleeding, cardiac arrest, choking, etc. These basics are all anyone needs to sustain them through those critical first few moments of emergency response.
However, first aid training courses tend to run three days – for one, it’s a longer period of time, but for two, you gain more materials/injuries/medical conditions to learn about, assessment skills and practice elements that equip business employees with what they need to know for their specific environments. For compliance purposes (and insurance), businesses should have effective first aid training courses but more nuanced versions of such classes allow staff to avoid just checking a box on compliance forms.
The course level required will depend upon your organization’s risk assessment and how many employees you have – a higher-risk environment warrants more trained first-aiders; a larger team requires more trained staffers.
What The Scenarios Are Like
The best training courses will throw you right into simulated emergencies – someone may “collapse” in front of everyone as a participant, another person might have fake blood and a “wound” you’d have to assess and treat. In the moment, these force you to think of the proper steps rather than just memorizing items on a list.
Where people get uncomfortable is under pressure – having everyone watch while you assess a fake casualty brings performance anxiety. However, that’s the point – to use the stress response in a staged setting allows better efficacy in real life when time is crucial.
You’ll learn the difference between the primary survey (looking for life-threatening issues) and secondary survey (more in-depth assessment once immediate issues are addressed). The point is to take stock of the situation; don’t just panic and call 999 while someone bleeds out on your watch – you have more options available.
What The Theory Part Is Like
The theory portion isn’t as dry as you’d expect. Good instructors spend this time discussing why you do things instead of just what you’re supposed to do. For example, you’ll learn about the chain of survival, how quickly brain death occurs without oxygen and which injuries can wait and which must be treated immediately.
Legal aspects come into play as well. What happens if you go to help someone and they decide to sue? (Generally you’re safe if you did what you were supposed to do reasonably.) When are you required to help versus when can you let someone else figure it out? What sort of paperwork must be done after?
The theory portion also covers medical events that are not injuries – heart attacks, strokes, allergic reactions gone wrong, diabetic medical emergencies – there are distinct signs for these concerns and proper responses in addition. Many workplaces experience these situations much more than regular traumatic injuries, so it’s important to get specialized insight into these concerns since they’re less often treated as emergencies but should be identified as such at all times.
What Equipment You’ll Use
Professional courses utilize actual medical supplies – not crafts-store bandages – for assistance. You’ll see the difference between types of dressings (and when to use what) and learn how/why certain equipment exists.
Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are covered in most courses nowadays – these pieces of equipment are found throughout various workplaces and public spaces and they are surprisingly easy to use once someone shows you how – and your training dummy will show you how to position the pads correctly.
Depending on your level of training, you may work with eye wash stations, burn dressings, splints and other specialties; the point is familiarization – a real emergency is not the time to read instructions for the first time ever. You need to understand resources available beforehand so your brain can recall them when the adrenaline kicks in during an emergency situation.
Assessment and Certification
In most cases – whether it’s part of the course or at the end – you’ll be assessed at some point. This isn’t some sneaky test just trying to flunk you out; the instructor needs to gauge whether or not you’ve grasped skills necessary for proper implementation at a safe level.
Assessment usually involves demonstrating CPR, showing how one would handle a bleeding situation or discussing how you’d approach two different emergencies at once. As long as you’ve paid attention and practiced during your course, passing should not be a challenge because the goal is not to weed people out; it’s to send everyone successfully on their way competent enough for true evaluation based on course tenets.
You won’t receive certification for this without an expiration date – certificates generally last for three years; skills fade over time and protocols change every so often – but it’s not bureaucratic nonsense; it’s important for competency maintenance over time.
What You’ll Get From It All
Most people leave their training feeling simultaneously empowered and sobered. Empowered because they realize they can offer valuable assistance in any situation; sobered because they realize without proper intervention or help in general, people can go downhill very quickly – and no one wants that on their hands.
It’s important to note that skills fade if they’re not practiced – which means workplaces need to consider refresher courses down the line, plus having more than one person trained if possible – which means if one person took a course five years ago, that’s probably not sufficient coverage for anyone more than just one shift manager.
People also leave with knowledge about when it’s appropriate to call 999 versus when it’s handled yourself – not every little thing requires an ambulance but certain things certainly do require professional medical assistance – knowing the difference helps avoid both extremes of under-responding or overreacting.
All things considered, professional first aid training removes the mystery of what it’s like to respond in an emergency situation and takes the stress out of it; you’re not supposed to be a paramedic out there – you’re just meant to keep them stable until professional help arrives – and most people benefit from this knowledge in just one day or three days of slightly sore arms and awkward situations during practice scenarios.
