Last October 21, the UP Red Cross held a lecture on first aid. The lecture was divided into two parts; the first was about first aid, while the second part was about soft tissue injuries.
The first part of the lecture was the longer one. The speaker (he did not introduce himself) talked about the objectives, goals, and rules of first aid, and the characteristics of a good first aider.
First aid should be immediate, temporary, and continuous. It is meant to alleviate suffering and most importantly, prolong life.
We were also taught when to call emergency medical services (EMS) and what they provide. There was a distinction made as to which situations should the first aider call for EMS first or care for the patient first. The contents of the first aid kit was also shared with us. Primary assessment and secondary assessment were discussed. For primary assessment, we were given the acronym RABCD, which stood for Responsiveness, Airway, Breathing, Circulation, and Disability. First, the patient should be checked for responsiveness. Second, the patient’s airway must be cleared. There was a demonstration on how to properly perform the “head tilt chin lift” and the “modified jaw thrust.” Third, the breathing of the patient must be checked through proper methods as demonstrated. We were taught how to check the pulse. Fourth, the circulation must be paid attention to; if there is bleeding, whether it’s arterial or veinous bleeding must be determined. Lastly, the patient must be checked for disabilities.
There was a demonstration on how to perform the recovery position unto a patient — which must be done if there is breathing and pulse. There was also a demonstration in reverse breathing — to be done if there is pulse but no breathing. And there was a demonstration on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) — to be done if there is no pulse and no breathing.
Secondary assessment, on the other hand, was more on the vital signs.
The next lecture was with a different lecturer (she also did not introduce herself), and she spoke about soft tissue injuries. This is where the bandaging comes in. She differentiated open wounds and closed wounds, and the different types of bandaging. Since we were running out of time, this part of the lecture was shorter.
I learned a lot from this lecture. I had no idea what CPR was actually like apart from what I saw on TV and the movies. I didn’t know that reverse breaths and CPR were two separate things; I thought CPR was the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation only. I also learned that because of the roughness of the method, there is often broken ribs that result after CPR. The demonstrations were really fun as well. We were taught to count properly for CPR. I was also shocked that in CPR for infants, you actually enclose the mouth and nose of the infant inside your mouth. That was a shock to me!
First aid is definitely not as rosy and romantic as they show in the movies. I’m sure not all first aids are successful, too. It takes a lot to be a good first aider, especially since actual lives are at stake. To be honest, I don’t think I would make a good one!