As a part of requirements to have employees capable of performing first aid by the Commission des normes de l’équité de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) I attended two full days of first aid training courses at the Centre de loisirs des Draveurs in Fort-Coulonge last week.
The two day course, which was provided in English, was also attended by employees from various businesses from across the Pontiac.
The course provided a relatively in-depth overview of how to identify and handle a variety of medical crises that could happen to coworkers or just people you are around.
The instructor of the course emphasized that having people with first aid training can be essential to saving someone’s life, especially in an underserved and rural context.
“It’s important, because due to the services we have around us, and understanding the delays of time that we have for EMS, firefighters and first responders, it’s important to have someone with the basic notion of first aid to actually start that intervention and stabilize the situation for the superior services to come and take charge,” the instructor said. “It is very important to teach our citizens around us at any age to have a basic notion on how to help someone need, always being in the most secure way possible.”
While the 20 subheads are too numerous to just list here, lessons included everything from respiratory difficulty, serious allergic reactions, seizures, diabetic episodes , chest pains, hypothermia, burns, shock and more. There was even a lesson on how to handle people going through mental health crises.
Fundamentally the main point made during the training was that a first aiders job is to do their best, identify what problem may be occurring, effectively communicate that to first responders and do what can help until emergency services arrive and can take over, all while remaining safe themselves.
The instructor of the course did a good job conveying the information in a succinct and clear way, jumping back and forth between theory and practice.
A big part of the theory of the course was to always refer to the guidebook provided titled: Practical guide for First Aiders in the workplace by the CNESST. This book, which is meant to kept accessible with the first aid kit in a workplace, is designed to allow the reader to quickly reference how to approach a number of serious medical conditions.
The practical part of the course included walking student first aiders through techniques ranging from the proper way to tie an arm sling, to injecting an epipen without stabbing yourself in the finger, to operating an automated external defibrillators: AED.
There was instruction on how to perform CPR, how to stop somebody from choking and a number of scenarios designed to help understand what it’s like encountering someone in a medical crisis and the appropriate steps towards getting them help.
One of the core takeaways I took from the course includes the importance for a first aider to be logical and decisive in times of crisis. Helping someone who is ill, injured or choking is a major responsibility. First aiders are expected to diagnose the patient to the best of their ability, effectively communicate that information as accurately as possible to first responders, all the while ensuring that they do their best to care for patients within their field of knowledge.
It’s a stressful position to be in, which is something the instructor emphasized repeatedly.
Despite the pressure, the instructor was clearly very aware of the stress and people first aiders should maintain awareness of that aspect of helping someone who is ill or injured.
“The basic, the most important information out of this course, is don’t go past your knowledge, do the best that you can keep it simple, and never blame yourself. As long as you are safe, you call 911 and you respect what they’re telling you to do on the phone. You’re the best source of first data that there ever was. So that’s the most important thing, do the best that you can call EMS,” he emphasized.
Another important take away I took from the talk was the importance of AEDs, which can dramatically improve the survival rate of someone going through cardiac arrest.
“Knowing that AEDs could save lives so much at the start of cardiac arrest, we should encourage the government to actually help us and apply AEDS in more areas so that they can be accessible to everyone,” he said.
Overall, the two days I spent taking the course was worth it and left me feeling that I would be better than useless in a time of crisis. The course, despite only being two days, manages to fit enough information that it is worth it. Hopefully myself or my fellow first aiders will never have to try to put what I learned into action. Be safe.
Brett Thoms
Fort-Coulonge November 4, 2022
