CPR Safety Training

CPR safety training prepares ordinary citizens, rescuers, health care workers and other professionals for helping a person to keep life-giving oxygen pumping from the lungs to the rest of the body. With your credential in CPR, you can save someone's life. Not assisting an emergency victim in respiration and circulation can decrease a victim's chances of survival even after paramedics arrive.

Definition

• CPR stands for cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. This type of safety training is necessary for assisting persons who do not show signs of breathing or a pulse in an emergency situation. CPR safety training may be included with first aid certification and AED (artificial electronic defibrillator) training. Techniques include rescue breathing, CPR, first aid for choking, universal precautions and how to use a resuscitation mask and a bag-valve mask resuscitator.

Significance

• According to the American Heart Association, CPR safety training can make a huge difference in a person's ability to survive. For example, AHA reports that approximately four out of five cardiac arrests outside the hospital occur in people's homes. That means when you perform CPR, you can help a person live.

Types

• Several organizations offer professional certification in CPR. These include the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association and the National Safety Council. The latter organization offers a course called "Standard First Aid, CPR, and AED" for people in need of safety training in an online format.

Professional Rescuer

• There are different levels of certification, depending on how you plan to use your CPR safety training. For example, first responders should know how to perform one-person and two-person CPR and how to use the AED machine. The American Red Cross offers online courses if you search by location. A course like the CPR Professional Rescuer & AED for Healthcare Providers prepares first responders, such as doctors, nurses, paramedics, firefighters, police and ambulance drivers for professional rescuer CPR.

Benefits

• An advantage of taking your CPR training online is that you get to work at your own pace. If you prefer instructor-led courses, get the hands-on benefits of working on a CPR dummy and alternating the two-person rescuer positions with a partner. In a group instructional setting, the only limitation is the amount of time the instructor has for helping each participant.