Once completing a first aid course, your skills can help you save the life of someone in an emergency. However, these skills can be lost with time, especially when not practiced frequently. Another consideration is that first aid training evolves with time and incorporates several new techniques.
Therefore, keeping your first aid training updated remains vital to incorporate all the new techniques.
Evolution of First Aid Techniques
Older people will remember that up to a few decades ago, basic first aid training taught them about mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, stopping nosebleeds by tilting the head back and performing the Heimlich Manoeuvre.
Nowadays, we know that the head tilt is an incorrect procedure, while the other two have become secondary procedures in performing first aid rescue.
Changes in Burn Injury Treatment
Another incorrect treatment taught a few decades ago was the treatment of burn injuries. At the time, the usual procedure was to apply butter to a burn. Unfortunately, despite offering temporary relief, oils used on burn injuries keep in the heat, causing the skin to continue to burn.
Current first aid recommends placing a burn injury under cool water for up to 10 minutes, followed by bandaging to prevent infections.
Changes in CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) combines chest compressions with artificial ventilation, helping prevent brain damage in people suffering cardiac arrest. In times past, the airway always came first in CPR, with first aid responders giving mouth-to-mouth.
Since 1960, when CPR was first introduced, it has evolved several times, with chest compressions playing the most vital role.
Therefore, from the older CPR guidelines of the steps A-B-C – the order, which was airway, breaths, and compressions, was updated to C-A-B. The new order emphasizes chest compressions, with breaths being the least important step.
Additionally, the ratio of rescue breaths has changed. In the past, they used two for every 15 compressions, but today two for every 30 compressions are recommended if required.
Compressions help keep the victim’s blood flow circulating to the brain, increasing their survival rate until help can arrive.
Potential Poisoning First Aid Response
One of the solutions to poisoning used before 2010 was to induce vomiting. However, we now know that reverse peristalsis can have harmful side effects in most cases of poisoning. Therefore, the first aid procedure is to call 911, tell them what the patient ingested, and follow their advice on the type of first aid.
Inquire about First Aid & CPR Training Course
Certify for First Aid training learn skills that increase their confidence and willingness to respond to others in a crisis as you complete the course with us. Call our toll-free number to know more.
Importance of Remaining First Aid Updated
Whether you need first aid for your workplace or want certification to help others in your home and community, you must remember that keeping your skills current is the best way to help others.
Did you know that your first aid certificate expires after three years? Since incidents can happen anytime, refreshing your first aid skills with a recertification course can give you the confidence and new techniques required to help others.
Let’s recap why you need to keep your first aid training updated:
Evolution of first aid procedures
Since the recommendations for basic life saving techniques and first aid procedures are continuously updated thanks to medical research on the most effective strategies, learning these by renewing your first aid certification can help you help others more effectively.
Remember Your Skills
If you have not needed to practice any of the skills, especially CPR and everything else you learned during your initial first aid training, chances are that you will have forgotten the techniques and steps required during various emergencies.
Unlike other skills you practice daily, recertification helps you refresh your first aid skills. Remember that recertification every three years is required for workplace first aid, but it’s also essential if you want to be ready to help others at home or in your community.
Maintain your confidence
Knowing the theory of different first aid techniques is important, but it’s even more essential to have the confidence to apply these skills in an emergency. Retraining helps you to jump in without hesitation and to practice your skills quickly and effectively whenever a situation should arise in a medical crisis.
Requirements for First Aid Recertification
Most workplaces require either Emergency First Aid or Standard First Aid certification based on WSIB rules for the number of employees per shift. However, if you decide to complete first aid training to help others in your home or community, you can choose any of the two.
Both forms of first aid training focus on helping people with circulatory issues, external or internal bleeding injuries, CPR, and choking.
However, Standard First Aid will also teach you how to assist with spine, bone, and muscle injuries. You also learn how to deal with poisoning. Finally, standard First Aid also teaches you how to proceed when faced with several environmental and medical emergencies.
The certification you receive remains valid for three years, and even though this feels like a short time, you need to refresh the techniques and learn any new ones by retraining.
In Ontario, you can get recertification once if you are a holder of a Standard First Aid Certificate, and then you need to take the full training course the following time. However, if you hold an Emergency First Aid Certificate, you must retake the full training each time.
Refresh your first aid certification with Coast2Coast
As one of the leading first aid training providers in Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area, Coast2Coast has a presence in several cities, making it easy to refresh your skills and learn new first aid techniques.
Remember that you require a valid Standard First Aid Certificate & Level C CPR for recertification, and the course takes 8 hours with 100% attendance needed. You can also take the blended course of 4 hours online and a 4-hour class.
Find your nearest Coast2 Coast training center today and register to receive training from our Canadian Red Cross instructors. Staying updated with first aid training means your skills remain updated, ensuring you are always ready to help a colleague, friend, or stranger.
