Eight Things You Must Know About First Aid Training

First aid training equips you with knowledge on handing the initial stages of injury or illness. Training will include life saving techniques and treatment of illnesses and injuries. First aid training is not just for medical professionals.

CPR certifications and first aid training is mandatory for many jobs today. You can be well prepared to handle any emergencies at work or home. You will learn how to save the life of a person who is critically injured by stabilizing his condition and assist with recovery before medical professionals arrive to take over.

Here are 8 things you must know about first aid training -

   1. A few simple measures are enough to provide effective first aid treatment. Though all of us know the basics of cleaning a cut or applying a bandage, it is imperative to learn the appropriate method and initial treatment options as an invasive procedure could be risky if not handled in the right manner.

   2. First aid course training is for everyone as we cannot determine when and where first aid may be urgently required. These courses are offered by commercial providers and by community organizations like St. John Ambulance and Red Cross.

   3. The two major types of first aid courses include Emergency Aid for Appointed Persons course and the First Aid at Work course. The first course teaches you the basics and provides knowledge on how to manage critical conditions such as severe bleeding and heart attack. There is no formal assessment for this course.

   4. First Aid at Work course is a three day course that offers a comprehensive first aid lesson. Candidates here are assessed formally by assessors who are approved by Health and Safety Executive. After completing this course, you will receive the three year valid certificate by the training organization.

   5. Some of the common areas covered by first aid course include ailments such as choking, emergency action planning, control of bleeding, child resuscitation, shock, scalds and burns, sprains and breaks, child medical emergencies, unconsciousness and recognizing conditions like meningitis.

   6. Work place related risks that can be managed effectively after completion of first aid training course include shock, bleeds and wounds, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, unconsciousness, scalds and burns, seizures, breaks and sprains, poisoning, choking, employer's risk assessment, record keeping and accident reporting.

   7. For sports organizers, first aid course training will include concussion, joint dislocation, shock, unconsciousness, blocked airways, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and sprains and breaks.

   8. Advanced first aid courses equip you with knowledge on moving people who are seriously injured, manual handling, defibrillation and advanced life support such as administration of medical gases like Entonox and oxygen.

How to Become a Phlebotomist

Perhaps you've been wondering about how to become a phlebotomist, or you have always wanted a job in the medical field. This is a highly skilled position and will give you the job security that many people have been desperately searching for. No matter how bad the economy, no matter how much the government mismanages our funds, phlebotomists are always in high demand. There will always be a need for medical professionals and there will always be a need for blood samples for research purposes. The process does take some time and the training facilities vary across the country.

Information on How to Become a Phlebotomist

There are various reputable training centers scattered across the country and as the demand increases for these types of positions, so will the training centers. Generally, becoming certified involves taking a select number of courses that cover a wide variety of topics: mathematics, biology, anatomy, psychology and even law. You can choose to study part-time or full-time, with some study being done at home if you wish. Keep in mind that the process takes longer with part-time studies. You will have to write an exam after each course.

The average time to complete all of your courses ranges from 12-24 months. If you are already in the medical field, you may be exempt from some courses. Once you have completed all of the necessary courses and passed all of the exams, you will need to write your certification exam. Once you've passed your certification exam the state will grant you a license to practice. While you are taking the courses, there will also be a fair amount of hands-on training you will need to complete, usually 100 hours or more.

Online Resources on How to Become a Phlebotomist

When you are first researching your new career, it's a good idea to conduct some initial research, to make sure it is something that is right for you. There are several online resources that will give you information about the best training centers, what kind of courses you need to take, what you can expect in the field and other pertinent information. Once you have gathered all of your resources, contact some schools and training facilities and ask them questions about the course of study, job success rates after graduation, etc. The administrators will be more than happy to answer your questions.

Of course, when you are gathering data on how to become a phlebotomist, you will want to know the cost of the entire course, and how much you expect to earn when you graduate. These are relevant questions and they do vary from city to city. Larger cities obviously pay a higher salary than do smaller towns; however, larger cities may have better training facilities. One thing is for sure - there is nothing more satisfying than knowing you are helping people in need.

Essential Education Skills for All Student

Have you ever taken a moment to watch a honeybee in action? Did you marvel at the way she methodically drifts from flower to flower collecting her "basketfuls" of pollen, only to navigate unerringly back to the hive? Did you ever wonder where she learned to do her job so well and to navigate so precisely? The answer lies with Mother Nature, herself. Honeybees are born with all of the necessary skills to do their specific jobs in a precise, prescribed manner. Honeybees never need to be trained; they go right to work the moment they are born. This remarkable system works beautifully, indeed... for honeybees! The downside of this "hardwired" arrangement, however, is that each honeybee is capable of performing only a limited number of specific tasks. She neither ponders nor analyzes her situation; she simply responds to cues from her environment and her genetic programming.

Fortunately for us, Mother Nature has neglected to outfit human beings with such a predisposed pattern of behavior. I say "fortunately," because humans possess the genetic freedom to be creative, innovative, and adaptive. As a result, our children are blessed with the ability learn many different skills, but these skills must be taught (and reinforced) if students are to process information in an efficient manner. Never forget, however, that human beings are capable of assimilating inefficient processing and organizational behaviors just as easily as they can efficient ones!

To understand the importance of proper training, let's consider an employment scenario for just a moment. Anyone who has worked for a living is certainly familiar with the phrase "job description." This phrase refers, of course, to the specific duties that a particular job entails. Naturally, if an employee is unaware of these duties or lacks the skills necessary to carry them out, his or her employment is in serious peril. Furthermore, if an employee has not been properly trained, an employer would be unreasonable to expect exceptional job-performance.

What, you may ask, has any of this to do with scholastic performance? The answer is simple... everything. Students can be thought of as employees of a sort. They have specific jobs to do and, if they do them well, they are well compensated. This compensation comes in the form of education, grades, grade point averages and, most importantly, opportunities.

I realize, of course, that many students, especially those in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools, find it difficult to perceive, let alone appreciate, the non-material, deferred rewards of a successful academic career. But, this phenomenon comes under the heading of motivation and is not what I am referring to by my employment analogy. I am, instead, simply acknowledging the sad truth that school systems (both public and private) across the nation routinely give children explicit job descriptions, but fail to train those children to do the jobs!

Let us examine, for a moment, the fundamental duties of the average student. From the day the student begins his or her "job," a student is presented with a certain amount of new information. In turn, he or she is expected to process that information in a specific, efficient manner. This "processing" includes organizing, note taking, studying, test taking... the student's "job description." But who teaches the student to perform that job in an efficient manner? Not the schools, I am sad to say! The schools seem to believe that our "honeybees" are born with the ability to learn efficiently and to organize themselves appropriately.