Red Cross Nursing

It is next to impossible to predict what will happen the next moment in the ordinary course of a person’s life. The situation becomes grim, for example, if either we contract a sudden problem such as a cardiac attack, unfortunately away from the vicinity of any hospital, or we see other person suffering from such an unforeseen event.

It is precisely in these circumstances that the importance of first aid and more specifically emergency first aid can come to a person’s rescue. Things can get out of control in a matter of seconds or minutes and any delay in such a situation might cost a life, which, once lost, cannot be retrieved back.

First aid in general, and emergency first aid, in particular, refers to those trivial but essential activities that need to be done for a person suffering from a health problem, such as sudden stroke attack, before he or she can be taken to the nearest hospital for regular treatment.

A number of voluntary health organizations, apart from hospitals and over health institutions, teach emergency first aid courses on a regular basis to teach and educate the people about the importance of this service, that, if properly utilized, can result in saving millions of lives. You might have heard many instances where the patient breathed his or her last before being taken to the hospital. If that patient were treated with emergency first aid, the probability of saving his or her life would have been more.

Burns, heart attack, stroke, accident, outbreak of violence or some bomb blast may be some of the incidents that require emergency first aid.

The principles of first aid or emergency first aid is following the three P’s in that order – preserving the life of the person; preventing further deterioration in the health of the patient; and paving way for further recovery of the patient.

An ideal example of emergency first aid is CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which can be administered to a person whose breathing or heartbeat has stopped following a heart attack.

The other name for First Aid, recognized across the world, is none other than the American Red Cross Society. They are setting the standards for first aid and care in the case of emergency, and any certificate from the Red Cross is considered as Gold Standard Certificate.

The Red Cross has outlets or branches, whatever may be term you want to associate, all over the world. In case of calamities such as flash floods, earth quakes, forest fires of large proportion or even landslides or any other devastation involving life of people, then the first person to be on the spot rendering assistance would be none other than a member of the Red Cross.

In an effort to spread the need for as well as importance of first aid, the Red Cross has been conducting a number of courses and training camps to aspiring individuals who care for themselves and also for the fellow citizens.

Red Cross has devised many courses aimed for individuals, for people working in specific occupations and also for the communities at large.

They will provide the basics of first aid training and also provide certificates for persons who have successfully completed the basic first aid training course. These certificates would normally be valid for 1 year or 2 years and is subject to renewal after upgrading as well as updating your knowledge.

The various types of first aid courses offered by Red Cross include the following:

• First aid training course for schools
• First aid training course for communities
• First aid training course in CPR
• Training in CPR with AED or Automatic External Defibrillator
• Adult CPR training
• Child and infant CPR training
• Training for babysitters
• First Aid training in sports and safety in sports

More details can be obtained from the local office of the Red Cross in your locality. You can choose the type of training you need the most apart from the basic first aid training certification course, and specialize in that field.