Have You Done A First Aid Course?

[sazzafrazz]

I've done the "caring for babies" course which is a full day. Learnt how to resucitate a baby and lots of other injury stuff.

I didn't get any kind of rebate, was about $150 through st John ambulance i think, but the skills i learnt are invaluable. You can't put a price on potentially saving your child's life.

I did that one too. Our whole mums group did a group booking and invited friends. Some DH came too. It was cheaper that way and we all felt comfortable getting up in front to try the techniques. I found it really valuable as I had never done a formal course before. We all thought of it as insurance: If you have it you wont need it. if you dont, you will.

[Kazbah]

I've been current with my first aid since I did my Senior in Girl Guides!
I've been doing it with the SES and they have a contract with a private company, who are ex-paramedics. I find that ambos / paramedics are the best teachers, they really put it into real terms.

I also "volunteered" as first-aid officer at work so get it covered & paid for by work

Well done Bath - now's a good time to do it.

[Pandora]

My work paid for me to do a level 2 first aid course last year, but I want to to the childcare one that the ambulance service in Vic run as its more focussed on kid type injuries.

[Oorki Galoorki]

i havent done one.. but as i will be starting nursing next yr i kinda think i wont need it... iykwim..

[sweetpea678]

I actually train first Aid with st John ambulance in the ACT. I train the caring for kids course to. I think it is a great thing to learn etc. I also volunteer for St John in the operations branch, where we do first aid at major events, eg traithalons, australian mountian bike championships, nrl and rugby games etc, It is good to put it into practice to.

[Mother Goose]

Bath, I've done courses with both Red Cross and St John... and used to teach for St John. The main difference I noticed between the two were that Red Cross focuses a lot on improvisation of things (such as what you could use for a bandage etc) where as St John really is more focused on those who have first aid kits on hand. St John is more "controlled" where as Red Cross deal with more "adhoc" situations. Having said that, St John is, in my experience, more "real". I'll never forget my laughing so hard I had to leave the room when my Red Cross instructor tried to tell us that the casualty will "always be calm" Maybe if they're unconscious!

Doudou - your SFA will definately come in handy as a nurse. At no point in your nursing degree, will you be taught how to apply a bandage or sling. Chances are, your SFA will be the first time you are exposed to CPR and EAR. And when you go on your clinicals, the venues you attend want to know, uncategorically, that if a patient has an emergency, you will be able to deal with it. You will be able to do DRABCD, commence CPR if needed and so on. Many of these skills aren't actually taught by the Uni before you go out. Seriously. And, on a side note, there are skills that you learn in a SFA course that you won't learn or do regualrly as a nurse... believe me! It all depends on the area of nursing you work in. So, as much of a PITA as it is, go into it with an open mind. And don't forget that your Uni will probably want you to do a CPR refresher each year just as nurses do... we have to pass a competency every 12 months to prove we know the principles of, and can administer, basic life support.

MG

[~shazz~]

i've done several over the years it is a vaulable asset to have i'm heading into my first round of practicals for My Nursing degree and everyone has to redo the course through the uni i'm looking forward to

[Inertia]

I did mine at TAFE as part of my Conservation and Land Management course. Really it was only for snake bite procedures, but we do the whole course.

Angie is doing her Junior First Aid via St Johns this holiday. We are signing CPR permissions too as part of the driving force behind her doing it is our near miss on NYD - we went swimming at a river near tamborine, and as Sam puts it, he "run out of ground". Went straight down and because all the kids were being properly supervised, I pulled him out and my brother had his airway open in 30sec - although as his mother it felt like 30 minutes.

When she saw me fishing him out she felt helpless and started screaming. She never wants to feel that way again. I am rather proud of her decision - it was a very mature one to make under the circumstances.

The course I did was 8 hours over 2 days. It was fairly informative, but it did kind of feel like a cram session. I think I was most disappointed that I forgot it all at the very moment I needed it, and was so grateful my brother was far more level headed - but I think it was because it was my baby. That rotten maternal switch - it doesn't fix it.