First aid, CPR, medical - Why get trained?

I have never had more training than basic CPR and first aid. I went 26 years as a leo without doing cpr. I have learned a lot about emergency med by watching the medics work. I joined a volunteer fire dept and ended up with a bunch of experience in emergency medical. This is a great way to find people worth knowing and to learn sh*t that will save you a$$.

 

I am reminded of a time I saw a woman crossing the street in West Seattle get hit by a car. I was not a RN at the time, but I did have CPR and 1st Aid training. I went to her side, she was unconscious and not breathing. Her pulse was what I describe now as a nurse, thready and weak, then it seemed non-existent. I am thinking the whole time...... "I am going to have to do CPR" repeated in my head several times. I took a deep breath and went into the routine. I lifted her chin (jaw thrust) and she started breathing! I was relieved that I didn't have to do the whole 9 yards, just lift her chin....... but what a wonderful feeling to have helped someone who could have been much worse off if no one knew how to do anything. She did survive and so did I

 

Just saw this thread and since I am new here I thought I would throw in on this.

After reading the first post I can only hope that you live in a small town because putting someone on hold during a 911 call in a larger city would be an incredible atrocity. Most people think there are hoards of people answering 911 calls and that in most cases is not the case. Small centers may have only 1 or 2 people answering the phones. Most of those places they also have to work the radio while taking calls. So in cases of small centers they do have to put people on hold sometimes. In a large city there should be plenty of people to answer. There are times when even a big city gets backed up but I can't think of an instance where someone would get put on hold. A more likely scenario would be the answer time would be slower. I am very sorry for the loss of the original poster. It sounds like a horrible series of bad events that would lead to such a slow response.

The hospital should have done more. Inexcusable that they left a patient in a condition like that outside for that long.

I say all this because I am a 911 dispatcher. I have been doing the job for nearly 13 years. I have experienced more than most would ever want to hear. No one ever wants to be the last person to talk to someone before they die, or to hear a mother cry because her newborn won't wake up, or hear an elderly husband or wife plead to their spouse to not leave them while trying to give CPR instructions.

The advice I can give to everyone here, especially since this is a survival forum, is to be prepared for the worst at all times on all fronts. From my line of work I can tell you that probably 95% if not more of all 911 calls are life threatening emergencies. And by life threatening I mean where someone may actually die. Think very hard before 911 is called. If you call about your car being broke into and you take the last available operator then while he is trying to give a non emergency number out, someone's grandmother may be also calling because they are having a heart attack and have to wait because of it.

Take a CPR class. It takes very little time and certification is good for 2 years, but the knowledge will stick for a lifetime and may help save someone some day. Just be prepared for the worst as I said earlier. Its not like in the movies where someone gives a couple puffs of air and a couple pumps on the chest and the person suddenly regains life. Most of the time when they are to the point of CPR it is too late. But you never know. The brain can only last on average 4 minutes without air. Wait too long to do something and the worst can happen.

Biggest thing is to be prepared. You never know when you may need it.

 

I haven't take a refresher in 30 years, Ill remedy that this month.

 

I totally get it, my wife a Red Cross Volenteer constantly updates her certs, and telling me about her class I gasp at how much changed from my teen years as a medic and first aid squad volunteer.

I guess the old triangle bandage isn't used for securing people to the stretcher any more?

 

Here's a good reason to get trained:
VIDEO: Family's Worst Nightmare Caught on Camera

 

Does anyone know any good wilderness medical courses? I want to get a but more out there with my hikes and camping. I know some basic first aid (through work) but there's probably a lot of things I haven't thought of. I found one course that looks pretty good from the review but I like to have as many options as possible.

Looking forward to your feedback!

 

SOLO, NOLS, WEMSI all offer the gold-standard courses.

 

I agree with @Flight-ER-Doc NOLS course is a good place to gt training.

Here is a list NOLS - WMI - Course Schedule - WFR

 

Thanks I'll take a look!

 

I retired from EMS in 2008 after serving for 15 years.
Two courses well worth taking are Wilderness EMS and Tactical EMS.
Both would be very beneficial if still available.

Just found these after a minute search.

Wilderness EMS training
Wilderness EMT Upgrade | Medical Professionals Training Courses

Tactical EMS training.
EMT-Tactical

 

Wilderness, moreso. Everyone thinks they will be fixing bullet holes when in reality it's more sick call and accidents.

 

Find courses and d/l the information.
American Heart Association-CPR & ECC
American red Cross - CPR, ECC & 1st Aid
Taking a class is great if you can get to one and find the time (not that hard to do) or volunteer on a local ambulance part time for the experience. Don't try and do anything more than your comfortable with and isn't appropriate to your level of training (no needle chest decompression for laypersons......) Failing all else having the information in your head, trained or not, certified or not can save a life.

 

FEMA has a ton of free online courses that even come with Certificates. I don't think they qualify as Continuing Education, but you can learn a lot at the Awareness Level to be sure.

I've been CPR trained for 30 years. Thank God I've never had to use it. However, I've used First Aid training from the US Army Expert Medics badge Quals and Red Cross many times over the years.

I always figured any training you get adds another arrow to your quiver in the battle against chaos.

 

Probably another aspect ,that might actually need it's own thread is the psychological trauma that will have to be dealt with in all ages , due to the ravages of war.
Even soldiers cripple themselves dealing with bodies, not only of the enemy dead or injured but there comrades as well .
In search and rescue we had counselors if we needed them , after dealing with so many different types of injuries or corpses after a mission . It takes a while to get hardened , and even then, there are times that just get to you .
Even simple things like taking care of injuries most people have difficulty ,even those with training in first aid don't always handle it well .

 

Sorry for your loss, @monkeyman. Even though it has been a while.

I renew my CPR and First Aid certification every two years. Wish I kept up with my wilderness first aid too.