Healthcare & CPR Certification

When working as a nurse or EMS, you will be required to take cardiopulmonary resuscitation for the professional rescuer (CPRO). CPRO is different from regular CPR because it is tailored for those who "have a duty to act" in the event of an emergency, as noted by the American Red Cross. CPRO will teach professional responders what to do in the event of a heart or breathing emergency with the tools available, and how to take over for a lay responder.

Legal

• A CPRO instructor will first take students through the necessary legal considerations. This includes the "duty to act, scope of practice, standard of care, negligence, Good Samaritan laws, consent, refusal of care, advanced directives, battery, abandonment, confidentiality [and] documentation" as written by the American Red Cross. In summary, students will be taught their minimum mandatory responsibilities in the event of an emergency, how to give reasonable and prudent care to avoid being sued, how to ask for consent and what to do if a victim refuses care.

Precautions

• To minimize the risk of disease transmission, students will be taught the standard precautions for giving emergency care. This includes the use of protective equipment, including gloves, eyeglasses and face masks. Health-care professionals are exposed to an unusual amount of ill and injured people and their blood, saliva or other bodily fluids. By understanding how a blood-borne pathogen is transmitted and what tools are available to prevent this from happening, a health-care professional can decrease his chance of infection dramatically.

Resuscitation

• One of the main differences between a lay responder and a health-care professional is access to advanced equipment. Health-care professionals will have face masks available to use when resuscitating a victim. The instructor goes over the nose and mouth of the victim, creates a seal and effectively delivers air. Students will learn the proper way to use this mask so that they may take over for a lay responder with limited equipment at an emergency scene.

Breathing Emergencies

• Professional responders are taught how to make a quick assessment at an emergency scene so that they may give the most effective care. They are taught to recognize the cause of a breathing emergency, which may be an "obstructed airway, injury to head, chest, lungs or abdomen, illness, respiratory condition, heart attack [or] allergic reaction" among other illnesses noted by the American Red Cross. Students are taught to notice signs like "slow or rapid breathing, unusually deep or shallow breathing, [or] dizziness, drowsiness or light-headedness." Next, students are taught the proper technique to rescue breathing and how to use a Bag-Valve-Mask resuscitator. In the event that there is more than one professional responder available, students are taught how to coordinate an emergency rescue to maximize the benefits to the victim.

Heart Emergencies

• Students are taught to recognize the signs and symptoms of a heart attack, a serious emergency whose symptoms are commonly ignored. Cardiac arrest and emergencies require immediate care; because responses are often delayed, health-care professionals will have to know how to act quickly. Students are taught to "Immediately summon advanced medical personnel, have the victim stop what he or she is doing and rest, loosen any tight or uncomfortable clothing [and] closely monitor the victim" as written by the American Red Cross. The responder may also administer aspirin if the victim is not allergic or on blood thinners. If the victim passes out, students are taught to give CPR (with one and two responders) and use an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) as soon as one is available. Students will have to prove knowledge of skills through CPR/AED skill scenarios and a written test.