First Response First Aid Training

First responders are people who arrive on scene and provide basic first aid until emergency medical services (EMS) arrive. Typically, first responders work or volunteer in fire or police departments. They are the first to be dispatched to a scene when medical emergencies occur. To become a first responder, a person must successfully complete a first responder training program and receive certification through the state.

Locating a First Responder Course

• First responder courses can be found by contacting local fire departments, colleges and career centers, or online. You must complete an accredited first responder program to receive a license from the state. Contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for a list of accredited first responder programs. Courses can be completed both in person and online. Programs done online may require final exams to be completed in person at an approved testing site.

Medical Training

• First responders use blood pressure cuffs to check a patient's blood pressure in the field.

  First responders are trained to provide the first round of medical care and treatment to patients at the scene while waiting for EMS. They provide basic first aid treatment such as bleeding control using direct pressure, neck immobilization for those with suspected spinal cord injuries, oxygen for patients who are short of breath and CPR for a patient suffering from cardiac arrest.

  People who work as first responders are trained to take vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse and breathing rate at the scene. They also gather patient information such as medical history, allergies and medications. When the patient is unable to answer for himself, the first responder is taught to ask family members, friends or bystanders for information about the patient.

Learning the Equipment

• First responders use oxygen to treat patients with breathing troubles.

  Those training to become certified to work in first response are instructed on how and when to use various types of medical equipment to both treat and safely move a patient. When and how to use medical equipment such as cervical collars, backboards and oxygen delivery devices--nasal cannula or non-rebreather mask--is taught to future first responders to prepare them for work in the field. Students must successfully demonstrate the ability to use each piece of equipment properly before receiving certification. Students can practice skills using fellow students or training dummies.

First Response Certification

• You must successfully complete an accredited first responder course and pass both a written exam and skills test to become certified by the state to practice medicine in the field as a first responder. Written exams are typically given at an approved testing site, which may be where the course was taken, a local college or a fire department.

  Skills testing includes various skill stations set up to test a student's ability to treat a patient and use equipment. Simulated emergencies are used during the skills test to evaluate the student's ability to treat patients in the field. A list of criteria, which determines the pass/fail requirements for each skill station, is used to test the student's knowledge of when and how to use equipment.

Continuing Education

• Once you pass the course and all exams, you can apply for certification in your state. Cards are issued with an expiration date to those who become certified. Training, in the form of continuing education, must be completed before a card expires to maintain certification.

  Continuing education classes teach up-to-date information and techniques for patient care and equipment use. Refresher courses are a compilation of all the required continuing education credits needed to become recertified. Continuing education classes can also be taken individually.

  Each state determines the required amount and type of continuing education needed for recertification. These classes can be taken both online and in a traditional classroom setting. Certificates of completion for all of the required continuing education and a completed renewal application must be sent in, via the mail or online, to the state before the card's expiration in order to become recertified as a first responder.