CPR Class & First Aid Training

Chapter One: Introduction

Most of us have encountered a medical emergency and were not quite sure what to do. We stood by, looked on, and might have even offered our assistance. However, someone soon came along that knew what to do, took charge of the situation, and made everything better. Or did they? What if you were the only person around or what if no one knew first aid or how to help this person? What would you do?

The point of learning first aid and understanding first aid training is to train you to think and act in such a way that actions are automatic. A lot of times people panic when wanting to help another person because they are afraid that they might do something wrong. We are going to try to help you manage these feelings. Remember that they are normal for anyone to have and you should not feel bad about your apprehension. It is normal. The good thing about knowing first aid is that there are Good Samaritan laws that can help you to avoid legal trouble (this will be explained later).

The key to performing good first aid is practice and knowledge. Professional instruction and consistent training is necessary to be competent in the skill. How do you practice on a consistent basis, especially if you are not in the healthcare field? You can practice on friends and family members. You can practice on coworkers and you can take the initiative and jump in when ever someone has an emergency. If you have any questions, you can always consult this manual or even the internet. Just make sure that the resources you choose are good, quality sites with a lot of useful information.

In this course, we will give you basic information about first aid. This is much like a First Responder or EMT class, but given in an extremely simplified manner. We are going to start by giving you basic information on anatomy and physiology, then we will go into the EMS system, rescue and safety, the ABCs, laws about first aid, and finally specific illness and injury information.

Again, this text is considered to be a reference for you and anyone who you would wish to share the information with. You may copy this information at will, just be sure to credit the author(s).

- Ruben Major, EMT-Paramedic, B.A., Arizona State University

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