First Aid Training

Any education can be empowering, but first aid training can do something that a class on twentieth century literature can't. It can help you save a life. Somewhere out there someone is wondering why they should spend their time taking a first aid class. A more appropriate question would be--why not?

What Is First Aid?

• No one likes to feel helpless, and standing idly by while a child, loved one or co-worker is suffering often does just that. Whether it is a choking child who needs his throat cleared, or some other emergency, first aid training negates that feeling of helplessness by educating you on what you can and can't do to help. The training is not intensive. In fact it usually can be taken care in the span of an afternoon, but it that short time you will learn what steps to take before emergency medical staff arrives on the scene.

Who Should Learn First Aid

• Everyone from an accountant to an elementary school teacher can benefit from first aid training. It is, however, a necessity for certain people. Most people who work with children are required to have first aid training. If you are planning on becoming a schoolteacher or running a daycare center, you should know what to do when a child has an emergency. Anyone who works in a job that is highly dangerous or where there are a lot of people is also required to learn basic first aid training. The extent of the training given varies, but many employees in factories, machine shops, fitness centers and civil service outlets are given first aid training on the job.

What to Expect

• First aid training lasts anywhere from two to six hours and covers a lot of ground in that short span. Much of the training merely expands upon the common knowledge most of us have. It will likely be split up into four sections that may or may not include the following: anatomy and physiology, emergency rescue and safety, airway breathing and circulation, and Good Samaritan laws.

CPR and First Aid

• CPR and first aid training often go hand and hand but the two aren't mutually exclusive. You can learn one without the other. First aid covers the basics of how to behave in a variety of different emergency scenarios, whereas CPR is more specialized. CPR is an acronym for cardio pulmonary resuscitation and the training deals primarily with what to do for someone who goes into cardiac or respiratory arrest.

Good Samaritan Laws

• With knowledge comes responsibility, but take heed; Good Samaritan laws were not created to make it easier to sue those who offer a helping hand. Many states and countries around the world have developed sets of laws to protect Good Samaritans from litigation. Sometimes called first responder laws, Good Samaritan laws establish a method that allows you to help people without legal penalty as long as you do so in a manner that is not invasive or negligent. In other words, as long as you don't yank someone with a broken back out of a wrecked car or perform an emergency tracheotomy with an ink pen, you are probably safe.