What is the Meaning and Importance of First Aid?
First aid might seem like a dry topic. Something we ‘have’ to do for work or for a qualification, but as someone who has been a bystander in multiple emergency situations, I can promise you, renewing your first aid certificate should be in the top 5 things on your to-do list.
First aid is what we give to someone immediately after an accident or incident where someone is sick or injured.
It could mean giving an inhaler, putting someone in the recovery position, administering an epipen or commencing CPR.
When it comes to actually competing a first aid course, you might feel like:
- You don’t have the time
- You probably won’t need it
- You think you know enough
- You are scared you might actually need to use it
- You are not sure if you will manage to complete it?
Let me reassure you that anyone can complete a first aid course. If there is a part of the curriculum that you struggle with, our awesome trainers will go over it one-on-one to make sure that you have the correct technique or answer before you leave one of our courses.
In the last 3 years I have had two young children (not my own) choke in front of me in public. Both times I had to intervene and administer choking first aid for a child and infant. My son cracked his head open and my other son had a seizure. I also witnessed a nasty car accident where I had to assess whether a lady should be moved and put into the recovery position outside the car.
This was all in just 3 years! Now you might say I was just unlucky, but the fact is that this all happened – but I knew what to do. It may be true that If I had not been there, the outcomes may have been different?
Learn CPR
First aid training courses only take a few hours. Especially in this post-COVID world we live in, we can now offer online courses so most of the courses can be completed in the comfort of your own home.
The basic CPR training (HLTAID009) can take as little as 30 mins face to face after you have completed the pre online learning. To learn the skills to save someone’s life, I would say this is very worth the time.
First Aid Courses
Provide First Aid (HLTAID011) can take as little as 2-3 hours face to face to gain the full scope of first aid, including choking, CPR, bites and stings, asthma, anaphylaxis, broken bones, bleeding and so much more. This is the most popular course.
It can be run as 100% face to face, or 20% face to face & 80% online.
The Provide First Aid In an Education & Care setting (HLTAID012) is a specialist course for people working in schools, daycares and care work or care homes. It includes a special curriculum for dealing with small children in various first aid situations where the way to administer first aid is different.
Your Provide CPR needs to be updated every 12 months but the Provide First Aid and The Provide First Aid In an Education & Care setting need to be updated just every 3 years. These important skills are very much worth your while for a few hours every 3 years.
Although technically first aid is likely different in other countries, the human bosy remains the same. So if you are abroad and an accident happens in front of you, you can rest assured that your first aid will be good enough and based on current best practice.
Once you have completed a first aid course you will also gain so much confidence and you become even more valuable to the community. You are more likely than other to act and take control of an emergency and save a life.
Emergency Situations
Giving someone CPR may seem like a very scary prospect, but we must remember that this is not the movies. We do not expect the victim to suddenly take a big deep breath and sit bolt upright. Our objective in giving CPR first aid is to simply keep the heart pumping effectively to deliver the existing oxygenated blood to all of the vital organs. We are not trying to fix the issue, just sustain the body’s pump until help arrives.
The chain of survival chart here shows the importance of quick reactions in first aid response.
First aid might also just be preventing further damage being done. For example:
- Removing the casualty from oncoming traffic
- Switching off an electrical source
- Putting the vomiting person in the recovery position
- Opening the casualties airway
First aid situations are often NOT preventable or avoidable. By having even a basic knowledge of first aid, this can directly benefit you, your friends and your family, as well as your wider community. As a first aid trained person, you will likely create a safer environment to live in and see danger coming where others possibly wont.
First Aid Training
Most workplaces do not require a minimum amount of people onsite to be first aid trained, and high risk areas will require more than most. These are trades such as
- Construction
- Heavy machinery
- Laboratory work
- Ports and mining
We run group workplace first aid Australia wide. If you have questions about our courses, you can contact us anytime and we will get straight back to you. With The First Aid Nest, you can choose to do your course 100% face to face or you can choose to do 80% of your course online with just a short face to face assessment.
How to renew your first aid certificate
Take a look at our courses today. You can contact us for more information or you can purchase straight from our website and we will contact you to lock in the date of your choice.
Want more? We’ve got you covered…
Our Baby First Aid Courses
Our baby first aid courses are available in person in your home and online. We run classes in your home with groups of 2, 4 or up to 10 in Sydney & Melbourne and you can book in 3 easy steps!
- Pick your class
- Follow the prompts to purchase
- We will contact you within 24 hours to lock in your date of choice
Our First Aid Certificate Courses
We run most of the popular first aid courses Australia wide. HLTAID011 Provide First Aid, HLTAID009 Provide CPR, HLTAID012 Provide First Aid in an Education & Care Setting, RAMOAP (anaphylaxis), Mental Health first aid and CPR/LVR to name a few.
Book your public spot online or contact us if you have a group of 5+ people for onsite training.
Here are some other resources you may enjoy!
FREE GUIDE: Your Virtual Baby First Aid Kit
FREE GUIDE: Introducing Common Allergy Foods & Allergic Reactions
FREE Workplace Emergency Preparedness Plan: Grab this at the bottom of every page!
Follow for baby & child first aid and allergy info and tips on Instagram, TikTok & Facebook all @thenestcpr
