A Guide To First Aid Courses For Parents
As a parent, one of the things you will always worry about is the overall safety of your child. It’s normal if you just can’t help but feel extra cautious when it comes to providing total safety for your child at all times. One thing parents usually dread are school activities. Keeping children safe during a field trip or a sporting event at school are some things parents want to ensure. One way you can effectively ensure the safety of any child is by taking up a first aid course.
Read on below to find out how taking a first aid course can benefit you as a parent and what you can expect to learn from it.
What is First Aid?
Before we get into the details of what you can learn from a first aid course, let us first clarify what first aid is. When people hear the term “First aid,” they commonly think about that small kit that you often find in school or office clinics. That is partially correct, but what they’re pertaining to is only the kit.
The exact meaning of first aid is the practice of performing appropriate medical assistance to injured or sick people before medical professionals arrive. First aid often covers medical practices such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), treatment of wounds, sprains, burns, asthma attacks, and severe allergic reactions.
If you wish to learn about first aid, you will be equipped with the know-how of preventing injuries, promoting recoveries, and preserving life. Aside from these three, you will also learn how to keep a calm mind under the pressures of emergency situations.
How Can You Become A First Aider?
Official first aiders are equipped with certification from accredited first aid training centers. The only requirement for you to enroll for a first aid course is that you have to be at least 14 years old. Other than that, minors below 18 years old will need to gain parental or guardian consent.
Once you have enrolled in a first aid course, you will be required to finish an online assessment before you are allowed to proceed to the face to face training. For the actual physical training, you will be required to complete a written exam and a practical exam for performing CPR for a full two minutes.
The entire course will take you around 13 hours to complete. 4 up to 8 hours will be spent for the assessment and 5 hours will be for the face to face training.
Successful completion of the first aid course will have you eligible to collect a statement of attainment that will serve as your official certificate for completing an accredited first aid course. The type of certificate you will receive will depend on what type of first aid course you have taken (yes, there are several types of first aid courses out there).
If you decide to take a typical first aid course, you will gain a statement of attainment for three first aid practices including:
Providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Providing basic emergency life support
Providing first aid
Providing emergency response in an education and/or care setting
Upon receiving your certification, you will have the privilege of being an official first aider for up to three years. However, the certification for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation will need to be renewed every 12 months.
The best part about being a certified first aider is that you can immediately get hold of your certificate within the same day of completing the course.
What You Will Learn From A First Aid Course
So what exactly can you pick up from a first aid course and how will you be able to provide extra safety for your children?
When you decide to enroll in a first aid course, you will learn about medical knowledge and skills for providing necessary medical assistance to infants, children, and adults. During the physical training, you will be trained to perform appropriate medical techniques to three manikin types specifically designed for each age group.
The manikins will be used for learning how to:
Provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Provide emergency first aid
Provide basic emergency life support
Provide an emergency response in a care setting
A Quick Recap
Well that’s pretty much all you need to know if you want to get yourself into a first aid course. Remember, there are different types of first aid courses out there. If you’re a concerned parent, your best option would be a basic first aid course that covers how to perform CPR, how to apply first aid, and how to provide basic life support. If you feel like you want to learn more about how to save a life, you may also want to consider more advanced first aid courses to expand your first aider knowledge.