Key terms and concepts;

Five Key Points for a healthy baby; First Aid and CPR knowledge; OOHPE; A.E.D; information fade; knowledge transfer.

First Aid Safety Training markets an informative and highly interactive short course that is delivered to mum’s, dad’s and occasional child carers such as grandparents and young adults who mind children.

We cover the “Five Key Points” for a healthy baby.

1. Alert; 2. Warm; 3. Sweet; 4. Pink, and 5. Wet.

All our prospective students are asked to complete a brief pre-course questionnaire aimed at researching their of level of general first aid and CPR knowledge.

Our findings often indicate;

1. People will often ask a friend who has recently attended either a first aid or a CPR course about what they learned (knowledge transfer);

2.1 They will often ask for a demonstration of the essential CPR techniques such as managing a choking child’s airway (skills transfer);

2.2 They will ask about the  differences between a child’s and an adults anatomy and physiology;

2.3. How to manage a child’s airway who is unconscious but who still has circulation;

2.4. How to safely use an Automated External Defibrillator (A.E.D.) on either a child and a pregnant mother in cardiac arrest.

First Aid Safety Training is of the view that CPR knowledge and skill transfer is to be encouraged whether it be formal or informal.

Our research find that skills and knowledge transfer was largely adequate and mainly as a result of skilled course facilitators. The facilitators who passed on the best information such as scenario management were the ones who had actual Out Of Hospital Paediatric Emergency (OOHPE) experience.

Skills and information fade and misinterpretation is a common finding especially when well meaning lay people teach other lay people.

Facilitators lacking OOHPE exposure faired well, but couldn’t deliver on actual case histories.

We ask the following pre-instruction questions which presented some very interesting answers;

3.1 “Would you apply an A.E.D. to a pregnant patient and deliver a shock if prompted?

Common answer provided: No. As you may kill the baby.

This is an incorrect answer as the baby’s survival is directly related to the mothers.

3.2. If you were performing CPR and the A.E.D. asked you to deliver a shock and you saw that the patient had a pulse, would you still deliver that shock?

Common answer provided: Yes. As the machine knows best.

This is also an incorrect answer. If the pulse has returned, then the A.E.D’s instructions to press the discharge button should be ignored.  It is programmed to harmlessly “dump” its charge.

All our facilitators are highly experienced clinicians who are able to draw on years of cases involving the treatment of very sick babies; children and adults.

First Aid Safety Training has an excellent CPR Podcast and a first aid training newsletter that can answer your questions.

If you have any enquiries about completing one of our quality adult and child CPR courses then please contact us on;

1300 518 355 +61 407 281 425 www.firstaidsafetytraining.com.au