This week I completed and passed my Certificate II in first aid at the Mitcham training office of the Melbourne Ambulance Service. I’ve haven’t wanted to gain my first aid cert. up until now, always being scared of what if I did the wrong thing, and also thinking that if there was an emergency I was obligated to help if I had my certificate. I found out that is only by choice that I need to help, but in the end I think I would anyway, so best to have the right knowledge. Many would remember the old way CPR was taught, with 5 breaths and 15 compressions or whatever? This of course was different for infants and children and no one could remember… so now its simple, its actually 2 breaths and 30 compressions at 100 compressions a minute (which is quite fast) and that is used on anyone, child, adult or infant. You just do smaller breath’s and obviously smaller compressions. Did you know that if you are doing it right, it is definite that you will crack a rib or two? I was scared I might do that, but now I know I’m allowed too!

The basics we learnt was the Dr. ABCD. First Aid is about preserving life until medical help arives.

D - Danger (Check for danger and remove the risk or casualty from the risk.)
R - Response (Check for response - “Hello can you hear me. Can you squeeze my fingers?”)

A - Air way (Need to free their airway, check for obstructions and put them in recovery position)
B - Breathe (Are they breathing? If not we need to breath for them - 2 breaths, watching for rise and fall of chest)
C - Compressions (We don’t check for pulse anymore, they found even medics would only get it right 50% of the time… what hope do we have? So if no signs of life, we do compressions)
D - Defribulation (How cool is that! Defribulation is now a first aid thing. CLEAR! Gotta do an extra 4 hour course for that though.

Was good fun, got to perform mouth to mouth on a dummy, learn how to do a splint and sling etc. Recommend it to anyone thinking about doing it.