Teaching Volunteer First Aid?

beta_medic88 said:
I'm currently looking into getting Red Cross Instructor Certified. Maybe they'll have a good outline of topics to cover.

I understand this could be a tricky subject, but I wouldn't be trying to necessarily "certify" anyone in first aid; rather I just want to raise the awareness of basic injuries and promote seeking further education such as CPR/AED certification.
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As a public school teacher, EMT-Basic, and former AHA CPR/First Aid instructor, I'd suggest becoming a certified instructor and then teaching the normal course. Two middle schools I've taught at teach the full CPR/First Aid/AED course as part of their PE classes. One high school I taught at does it too. I find that the results/scores are just as good as adults.

Teaching any simplified version that is not part of an established curriculum is a recipe for disaster.

I've put together 15 minute -1 hour demos for events, but it was more of a show and tell than a formal education.

If you really want to teach I would suggest getting in contact with the AHA or Red Cross.

Good luck!
 
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Thanks for all the help everyone. I enrolled for ARC First Aid/CPR Instructor class in 2 weeks, so hopefully I can start teaching shortly after. I'm still not sure if I can do this as volunteer work, but I'll investigate more. I really want to do this as pro bono work so if anyone does know, please feel free to interject.
 
beta_medic88 said:
Alright, I need everyone's assistance.

I'm trying to put together a basic first aid lecture to give to students and faculty at schools in my area, and I was wondering if anyone had advice as to what topics to cover, common injuries to touch on, or ways to approach young kids who probably do not have much knowledge of medicine. I was thinking of talking about common sports injuries like bloody noses, sprained ankles, maybe concussions, things like that.

Any pointers or tips?

Anyone ever do something like this?
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I do this quite a bit. But then, I have some credentials and a curriculum to teach. There are a number of agencies out there that can give you the tools you need. The Red Cross will usually let you take their instructor course for free if you promise to teach a few classes for them during your certification period.

I recently put two high school shop classes through Industrial First Aid. Contrary to posts made here, I found the students to be very interested, and involved in the classroom. The problem with that age is they can smell insincerity and B.S. a mile away. If you don't have the knowledge or experience to back up what you are trying to teach them, you will have lost them at the start.

Give them some hands on with the roller bandages and splinting materials. I brought an ambulance to the classroom and gave them a tour of the back. But first get some support with a curriculm from ASHI or ARC
 
Sasha said:
That really should only consist of "Go find an adult to call 911 and don't touch anything red, wet, and sticky"
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How will they know if it's wet and sticky without touching? :P




Primary injury to teach teens--- Burns. Speaking from experience here.
 
beta_medic88 said:
Thanks for all the help everyone. I enrolled for ARC First Aid/CPR Instructor class in 2 weeks, so hopefully I can start teaching shortly after. I'm still not sure if I can do this as volunteer work, but I'll investigate more. I really want to do this as pro bono work so if anyone does know, please feel free to interject.
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I work at the Red Cross. You can teach classes as a volunteer. Note that there are costs that need to be covered if you plan on holding classes of your own (let's say for the external groups you talk about) like rental fees for manikins and supplies for the first aid, unless you provide your own.
 
In high school we would have people come talk to us but they would only focus on one thing so it wasn't like they were trying to teach us first aid. Like I remeber the school nurse talked one week about heat related illness, then alcohol, then how to know when to go to the doctor when you are sick with what seems like the cold. We had a nutritionist talk to us about sports nutrition and a trainer talk to us about orthapedic injuries.

Maybe you should choose one topic and stick with that. Make it almost like an awareness type of thing. That might go over a little better.
 
Primary injury to teach teens--- Burns. Speaking from experience here.
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From the "I'm hungry and mom wont fix me something to eat!" blues, eh? :P
 
Let this entire idea rest until you have actually taken the first aid training yourself and become certified as an instructor. Until that point, you simply do not have enough insight into the process to be planning anything.
 
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