Why Quality and Knowledgeable First Aid Instructors Are Essential - Part 2

Ideally, a first aid instructor should also have amazing interpersonal skills. They should be compassionate, patient, great communicators, and know how to manage diverse classrooms. We have all had that one person who may rub us the wrong way or seems uninterested in what we are saying. As an instructor, being able to see this as a challenge and propel forward to create the most engaging class and have the most difficult participants come to you at the end of the class saying they actually learned something is how success should be benchmarked.

Why Quality and Knowledgeable First Aid Instructors Are Essential

Part 1 We attended the Halifax Franchise Expo this past weekend, and one thing was abundantly clear the inequalities in first aid training are unnecessary and in desperate need of an overhaul.

Why Everyone Should Take A Hybrid CPR Course

Consider being in a situation where someone nearby stops breathing and collapses suddenly. This might occur at your home, your place of employment, or at the grocery store. In a blink of an eye, your ability to act could save someone’s life. This is why everyone, at a minimum, should take a hybrid CPR course.

How to Avoid Injuries During Summer Workouts

There is something about summer that makes us all want to be more active, especially after two long years of limiting our activities with friends and family. Finally, we can bike, hike, or try other outdoor activities with friends. Let's focus a little less on first aid for injuries and talk about how to best prevent and avoid injuries during this summer's workouts. With fun on our minds, we must remember to take care of ourselves and ensure we're not pushing our bodies too much, or our summer activities can quickly come to a screeching halt!

Creating the Essential Summer First Aid Kit

The summer season is here!!! We know we should all have a 'winter kit' that we keep in the car but have you ever considered having a 'summer kit'? As we often hear, it's better to be safe than sorry. Here are our top essentials to help prevent common injuries when out on day trips or even while away on vacation this summer. The most common ailments during the summer months are heatstroke, sunburn, cuts, eye injuries, fractures (these are very common considering wet tiles and pools!), dehydration, and allergies.

Proof that CPR can help Save a Life – Are you confident in your ability?

I can’t even count the number of times participants have shown up to one of my classes utterly confused with what they believe are ever-changing CPR guidelines. They’ll ask how many compressions versus breaths they’re supposed to do or if they are even supposed to breathe in people anymore. Consistent information straight across the board is vital to saving lives. I absolutely love the news article from CNN that we linked at the end of the blog, which states that a teenage girl saved her best friend’s life the day after she took a CPR training class. She remembered 30 compressions and 2 breaths and put her training into action.

Barriers to Canadians Taking First Aid & Why we Need to Think Outside the Box Part 2 of 2

Last week, we left off on number three of the five barriers I see to people taking first aid training. Number three, it's too complicated, and I leave feeling less confident. We have touched on this a little bit in the last two comments. If you make something overly complicated or use terminology above the participants' reading grade level, they will most likely leave feeling confused and not confident.

Barriers to Canadians Taking First Aid & Why we Need to Think Outside the Box Part 1 of 2

I've said it before, the old way of doing things does not work and does not provide higher retention rates. We live in a world where attention spans are less than 10 minutes at a time. Having somebody sit for 14 to 16 hours in a classroom listening to an instructor drone on while switching power points is not conducive for adult learners.

Heart Attack Statistics - Women vs Men

I am an avid believer that showing stats will help participants understand the gaps. 92% of Canadians are 100% on board that children should begin learning First Aid in middle school and high school, but only 12% feel confident that a child could help them during an emergency. We have been pushing for change in the schools to teach relatable information such as First Aid. The earlier we can start the education, we can increase our out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates.

Good Samaritan Act - Why You’re Covered Even if You Don’t Know What You’re Doing.

Last week, I wrote about how I was shocked at the inconsistent information retained by most of my participants from previous first aid classes. One thing I do hear over and over consistently is how people feel like they don’t have the skills to confidently save a life if needed, regardless of how many times they’ve taken first aid classes.

Automated External Defibrillators – Shocking Stats (Yes, the pun was intended)

Let’s talk a little bit about automated external defibrillators, commonly known as AEDs or what I like to call them in my class for ease of reference, the ‘shockey box.’

How do providers stack up with giving bystanders the confidence they need in emergency situations?

How do providers stack up with giving bystanders the confidence they need in emergency situations.

Let's talk about why common sense is so important during life threatening emergencies

Occupational Health & Safety – Your Basic Rights

Occupational Health & Safety – Your Basic Rights

Why Online Learning Could Change the Face of First Aid

Why online learning could change the face of first aid.

Why is better equipment essential to retention?

Why is better equipment essential to retention?

Industry Standards – What Works and What Does Not

In 2013 Canadian Red Cross approached the CSA group in an attempt to create a national standard for first aid competencies and training. In April 2014, the advisory Council received strong support from regulatory members to create a national standard. There were 15 invited experts to the October 22, 2014 workshop.

Break the Stigma – Would You Know? (Part 2)

Mental health awareness

Break the Stigma… Cause Some Stigmas are Meant to be Broken (Part 1)

Mental health awareness

First Aid Industry Standards – It’s 2021. Welcome to Rant Part 3

Just a warning, you’re going to hear this alot from us. We like to stand up and shout it when we can. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates have pretty well stagnated since 2012. That’s a DECADE with pretty much ZERO improvement!

First Aid Industry Standards – It’s 2021. Welcome to Rant Part 2

Let’s talk standards. There are no standards out there today that specifically say: “Ok, here’s what you need for equipment and here are the areas instructors need to be proficient in.” There’s no outline that tells you what you should be doing or best practice for different components of your courses. There are no specifics on what should be done, or how training courses should progress through different levels of instruction.

First Aid Industry Standards – It’s 2021. Wanna Know How Far We’ve Come? (Part 1)

Let’s have a look at what the first aid industry looks like here in the Great White North. We’re going to start our story in 2013, when the Canadian Red Cross approached CSA Group looking to help create a national standard for first aid competencies and training.