Learning objectives

• Explain a first aid provider’s responsibilities, and identify the legal and ethical issues related to acting as a first aid provider.

• Describe how to appropriately approach a medical emergency situation.

• Explain the procedures to follow when responding to a responsive or unresponsive victim.

• Explain when it is and is not appropriate to move an ill or injured person and how to appropriately position them while waiting for EMS to arrive.

• Recognize the signs and symptoms of shock and explain how to provide first aid treatment for shock

• Explain how to recognize mild and severe foreign body airway obstructions

• Explain how to care for mild and severe foreign body airway obstructions

• State how to appropriately respond to soft tissue injuries, such as cuts, puncture wounds, impaled objects, and all types of bleeding injuries

• Recognize the severity of a burn and describe how to respond to victims suffering from thermal and chemical burns

• Explain how to respond to a victim who has suffered an electrical injury

• Recognize the symptoms and appropriate responses for heart attack, cardiac arrest, asthma, and anaphylaxis emergencies

• Identify how to respond to low blood sugar emergencies

• Explain how to respond to a person having a seizure

• Describe what you should do if you feel faint and how to assist others who have fainted

• State how to recognize the symptoms of a stroke using the “FAST” method

• Identify common limb injuries and explain how to initially respond to a victim with a fracture, sprain or dislocation

• Recognize when a victim may have a back, neck or head injury

• Identify the initial actions to take for someone whom you suspect has a back, neck or head injury

Course overview

First aid responders will know how to make an initial response to work related accidents and use commonly accepted first aid practices for treating the injured prior to possible referral for medical treatment. This program includes an overview of the major changes affecting first aid responders in the 2005 Guidelines for First Aid sponsored by the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association. This program does not qualify as first aid certification. It is intended to be used as a review between certifications.