CPR & 1st Aid Certs

[plumbdog10]

Just re-upped my CPR certification today. You foreman out there need to keep up with the latest CPR & 1st. Aid knowledge. It wouldn't be a bad idea for the rest of you to do the same. But for owners and foreman in construction it is essential.

[oldslowchevy]

good for you dog!!
sadly you are one up on me here as i have never learned CPR. but i do know a fair amount of frist aid, but i even think that is now quite dated (learned in the navy in 1991) but i just might have to take a few classes and get back up there.

dog did you know some frist aid that you learn is only good in the area that you learned in? this is what i mean, when i learned frist aid i was in maine at the time. i learned how to keep some one from frezzeing both with and with out an open wound, now here in florida i am sure they would be teaching you on how to cool some one down since heat stroke is much more common here.

my point with that is this;
if you learned frist aid and then moved a few hundered miles from where you learn it you just might want to take a refresher seeing how things might be very differant in your new area, some things are always the same though.

god i hope that made sence

[drtyhands]

Took an 8 hour saturday course in the mid 80's so my employer could get lower insurance rates.Unfortunately like the algebra course in high school I can't remember a damn thing,need to do a refresher.Many times I think to myself,if something happens and I do not provide assistance I'm going to feel bad.

Whoa,Wait a minute,this just came to mind while posting this.It is my first reaction to jump to help.I'm not a doctor,I don't have a degree,can I legaly help someone without being sued.I know I can pull off discharging a firearm in the city if I have to drop a dog.But If someone desides to come after me when I helped their family member they could crush me.

[PLUMBER RICK]

I know I can pull off discharging a firearm in the city if I have to drop a dog.

whoa, 1 minute you're petting the dog, the next you're killing the dog:eek:

dog, don't come off the porch, until i have a talk with adam:rolleyes:

rick.

the last big time first aid class i took was about 6 years ago and it was a 3 day wilderness first aid course taught for a ucla outdoor activity class.

[PLUMBER RICK]

I do the first aid every 2 years and the cpr every year for work myself.

Dirty, a LOT has changed over the years. The "Good Samaritan" law protects you from being sued if you help with having had the training and you had good intentions.

Dog, hopefully you never have to use the info you learned;)

Mrs. Seat Down

[HVAC HAWK]

dog you need to make sure the people around you know CPR so when someone that does not know how to do plumbing and they ask you how to do something and your blood pressure goes to high and you go into cardiac arrest they can give you CPR :D :D

[drtyhands]

I do the first aid every 2 years and the cpr every year for work myself.

Dirty, a LOT has changed over the years. The "Good Samaritan" law protects you from being sued if you help with having had the training and you had good intentions.

Dog, hopefully you never have to use the info you learned;)

Mrs. Seat Down

O.K. Great,thank you, that gives me the go ahead,now to get updated.Anyone Know a resonable outfit in southern California that provides the course?

[HVAC HAWK]

try RED CROSS

[drtyhands]

try RED CROSS

Thanks Hawk looks like Red Cross has a monthly course for $60.00 within 20 miles of me.

When I asked girlfreind if she wanted to take it as well she said her place of employment just ran all the employees through and whoever else signed up with them at $30.00 for the same course.

[PLUMBER RICK]

adam i hope you bring the girlfriend with you to the cpr class, otherwise you will have to give mouth to mouth to a dummy:D aka, "annie"

rick.

adam, learn it before the big golf game. it's a long walk around 18 holes in the summer heat, especially if you play like me:eek:

[drtyhands]

adam i hope you bring the girlfriend with you to the cpr class, otherwise you will have to give mouth to mouth to a dummy:D aka, "annie"

rick.

adam, learn it before the big golf game. it's a long walk around 18 holes in the summer heat, especially if you play like me:eek:

Actualy I was planning on having it before Josh comes out, but not for that reason.From what I can tell, somebody could have a heart attack trying to keep up with your energy level:)

[Disaster]

adam i hope you bring the girlfriend with you to the cpr class, otherwise you will have to give mouth to mouth to a dummy:D aka, "annie"


Actually, if they are teaching the latest technique, mouth to mouth is passé. They have found that enough oxygen gets to the lungs from the compressions which flex the diaphragm and it is much more important to keep the blood flowing with the chest pumping than it is to add air to the lungs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/17/health/17cpr.html?ex=1331784000&en=93d7b2b0e266a88c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/healthteam/story/1244561/

[PLUMBER RICK]

Actually, if they are teaching the latest technique, mouth to mouth is passé. They have found that enough oxygen gets to the lungs from the compressions which flex the diaphragm and it is much more important to keep the blood flowing with the chest pumping than it is to add air to the lungs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/17/health/17cpr.html?ex=1331784000&en=93d7b2b0e266a88c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/healthteam/story/1244561/

well that takes all the fun away with the right person in class:D

rick.

[Crappy days]

I took the water safety class from the Red Cross about six months ago. They covered CPR,drowning, hypothermia and basic first aid. The class was okay, although I keep a couple of books around to stay fresh.

[stxrus]

i refresh and upgrade, as necessary, every 2 years max. CPR (infant, adolescent, & adult), medic/1st aid/1st responder, EAD, and O2 provider. when i was a SCUBA instuctor i taught most of these classes.

if you've got the gear O2 & EAD are the best, with a firm background in 1st responce.

steve

[bigboots44]

The only thing to remember about the good samaritan act or law is to get permission from the victim if he is awake or conscious. If unconcious it is assumed permission was given. You can't perform firstaid on someone who has refused. Another thing is not to try to do more3 than you were trained to do. If you do something you were not trained to do you can be sued.

[canucksartech]

i refresh and upgrade, as necessary, every 2 years max. CPR (infant, adolescent, & adult), medic/1st aid/1st responder, EAD, and O2 provider. when i was a SCUBA instuctor i taught most of these classes.

if you've got the gear O2 & EAD are the best, with a firm background in 1st responce.

steve

Actually, it's AED - Automated External Defibrillator.

[canucksartech]

The only thing to remember about the good samaritan act or law is to get permission from the victim if he is awake or conscious. If unconcious it is assumed permission was given. You can't perform firstaid on someone who has refused. Another thing is not to try to do more3 than you were trained to do. If you do something you were not trained to do you can be sued.

Good advice. As the name implies, I'm a Training Officer for a Search & Rescue unit. It's funny to see when people try to make out like they're Doogie Howser, MD, and try to go far beyond the scope of their capabilities. I was once asked by a person who didn't yet even have their basic Standard First Aid level up to snuff, about when we were going to learn to properly do a tracheostomy! :eek: :banghead: :withstupid: :loser:

[cdia1960]

Try this online site:
www.firstaidweb.com (http://www.firstaidweb.com)
It has info plus an online test to get certified. You can print your CPR and First Aid certificates from your computer. I believe it cost around $25.00 each. It doesn't take the usual 8 hours that a place like the Red Cross class does.:)

[canucksartech]

Try this online site:
www.firstaidweb.com (http://www.firstaidweb.com)
It has info plus an online test to get certified. You can print your CPR and First Aid certificates from your computer. I believe it cost around $25.00 each. It doesn't take the usual 8 hours that a place like the Red Cross class does.:)

Actually, IMHO, that is one of the WORST ideas I have ever heard of. With something as potentially vital and important as CPR & First Aid, there should be no easy-do-it-yourself-online / self-taught thing, such as this stupid idea of a webpage. It takes a knowledgeable and competent instructor to physically monitor you to ensure that the techniques are being performed correctly. If anyone that I deal/dealt with had taken a course such as this, I would probably tear up the certificate right there and then.

I do not think that anyone should fall prey to this cash grab of a webpage. It states that certificates are "issued in exclusive partnership with National Health and Safety Foundation", which, to my knowledge, is not a universally recognized accreditative body. [Interestingly enough, this foundation doesn't seem to have any webpage - all I found for it when googled is a business link for an address in New Zealand. It could be a shadow postal box for all anyone knows, and does not seem like a proper accreditation.] This webpage also states that "All Basic Life Support procedures demonstrated in this free online course adhere to the same guidelines as the American Red Cross® and The American Heart Association". Just because it adheres to the same guidelines doesn't mean diddley squat. I can say I can teach someone to fly a plane (of which I have no knowledge of whatsoever), and that just because I "adhere to the same guidelines" as a proper FAA/Transport Canada recognized training program, it should be considered good?! Nope. Sorry, doesn't work that way.

It's kind of like a brain surgeon learning what to do, taking 7 to 10 years of schooling, all online through a webpage such as this, with no instructor interaction, and no in-class oversight of proper application of the requisite techniques. Would you want a doctor such as this operating on your brain, or on the brain of your loved ones? Likely not.

There's a reason why this webpage should be obliterated. Many workplaces, schools, etc., require you to take an accredited Standard First Aid / CPR course. If you notice on their paperwork, it usually states that it must be a course from/through St. John Ambulance or Red Cross or Heart & Stroke Association [Canada] or The American Heart Association. These courses must be taken through them, or given by a private business that is a trained and recognized instructor by one of these oversight bodies, and can grant an actual recognized certificate through one of these entities. From what I was able to gather from this webpage, it does not.

And this webpage, in it's FAQ, basically states that it's okay to take the course through this little webpage, because you'd be covered under the Good Samaritan law if anything bad were to happen. Well, that's not entirely accurate. You're covered under the Good Samaritan law if something bad happens, but you did the best you could to the best of your ability... and according to the skills/training you were given from an accredited/recognized training program/course. And this webpage is not from what I can gather. So, you don't take a proper recognized course to learn these skills, and you take it from this webpage instead, and you end up applying these skills incorrectly and someone dies - say hello to your new friend "Multi-million-dollar Lawsuit", and even "Potential Jailtime".

A bad idea. BAD. :banghead:

[MoJourneyman]

wow, an online cpr cert does sound like a Bad idea.
That said, I need to get mine renewed. When I lived in NC I did night classes and got my EMT basic certification, was a fun class, and the state picks up most of the tab. I think all said and done it cost me around 150 bucks for the class and the books.
The biggest investment was in time, 2 nights a week for nearly 6 months. But I learned a lot, and... ermm, that certification also expires this april.

[canucksartech]

If I already know the material, why should I have to drive to and sit in an 8 hour class?

I'll say again - a bad idea. Bad. It doesn't matter if you think you already know the material - unless you're a doctor, or you've taken a Standard First Aid course at least a dozen times before, you need to go and sit in an actual classroom and learn the stuff. Generally, standard first aid accreditations are good for three years - I highly doubt that you remember every last thing effectively enough, when it's likely that you don't use it every day, or even every month for that matter. You need to sit in a class and have an instructor observe your actual techniques, to ensure you're doing everything correctly. It's also so that the accrediting body can be assured that you actually know the stuff - not sitting at home on your computer, unobserved, and just copying-and-pasting stuff from an old textbook or something like that. Also, things change - repetition numbers, techniques, treatments, etc.; being in a classroom ensures that you learn the new stuff adequately.

I should also mention that I have researched this issue of accreditation. None of these First Aid or CPR certification companies accredit one another. They are all competitors - every company from the American Heart Association to the American Red Cross to every other online certification program. The implication that there is some national accrediting body that needs to accredit one of these companies before they are legitimate is a myth. Such a body does not exist.

Well, there is a universal/national issue of accreditation. All CPR courses have to meet ILCOR and AHA (American Heart Association) guidelines in the U.S., and in Canada, it's the "Heart & Stroke Foundation" and ILCOR guidelines also. All courses have to be designed to meet this governing body's standards, and are revised and updated accordingly.

ILCOR [the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (2005 Consensus Conference on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science)] members include the Australian Resuscitation Council, the American Heart Association, the European Resuscitation Council, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the Inter-American Heart Foundation, the New Zealand Resuscitation Council, and the Resuscitation Council of Southern Africa.

ILCOR / AHA / H&S / etc. does not "accredit" any of the service provider companies (Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, etc.), but the companies are instead pre-onused to meet these standards in setting up their programs. Similar to how Underwriters' Laboratories don't "endorse" a given product, but that product still does have to meet the UL standards (and sometimes "approval") to be eligible to be sold. That's sort of the same idea.

[canucksartech]

Apparently, jasonrocks7's posts have been removed by him - there goes that side of the argument/discussion. :rolleyes: