First Aid at Work

Things have been a bit quiet this week on the blogging front. This has been due to my attending a four day "First aid at Work" course, and between that (and practising bandaging the kids) I've been more than a bit busy.

The course has involved pretty much what you'd expect, so as well as the bandaging, learning how to put someone into the recovery position, how to check for and deal with shock, poisons, breaks, burns, cuts and all sorts of other fun things, I've also spent a good deal of time learning CPR (or Frenching a rubber doll, as my Sister described it).

Today was the final refresher before my evaluation by the Red Cross to see if I have learned enough to be a qualified First Aider. Nervous doesn't even begin to describe it. As one of the other candidates put it, it is as bad as going to the dentist, or taking your driving test.

The tests were in three parts, first I had to perform CPR on the famous "Annie", after this I had to deal with a patient with severe blood loss from a cut hand (including treating him for shock), and lastly with an already unconscious patient to check for breathing and put her into the recovery position.

As the CPR one was first I wasn't as good on that as I would have liked, but after that the other parts went really well and yes, I passed with flying colours. Or with a small "First Aider" badge to be more exact. The final certificate etc are in the post to my company and hopefully should be there in the next couple of weeks.