Why You Need to Take Emergency Medical Training
You may save the life of someone you love.
I messed up. It would have been smart to get emergency medicine training when my family was young.
Our family lived and worked on a farm with five kids, and my husband owned a construction company. Both of these can be risky.
I don’t think my family was especially accident-prone or daring. But we have had the following emergencies, among others:
My husband came home from work with his hand encased in what had been hot tar from a roofing job.
My 11-year-old son fell out of a second-story window, landed unconscious on a cement patio.
I was bucked headfirst from a horse, breaking my arm.
The neighbor’s German Shepherd dog bit my daughter.
I cut off the end of my thumb while butchering a hog with a single-edged razor blade in the dark. It’s a long story.
When my oldest was a baby, he swallowed a chess piece, a live bullet, and the button off my bathrobe; not all at once.
It would have been nice to know what to do.
At least I’d taken CPR, but it would have been nice to have more training.
First responders are overworked in nearly every city. Lots of jobs and sports are potentially dangerous, too.
Knowing the basics of first aid, CPR, and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) will make you more aware of potential hazards and prepared to help in case of an emergency.
The time to learn is now, and there are plenty of opportunities for training.
Seven out of ten firefighters in the United States are volunteers.
Many towns don’t have a full-time emergency service standing by. Seventy percent of the firefighters in the United States are volunteers protecting 1.13 million people. In most of these areas, the firefighters are also emergency medical providers.
A small town near you likely needs volunteer firefighters. Training and certification requirements differ from state to state.
Some want volunteers to attend fire academy while others provide their training. Most need emergency medical workers, and with your new skills, you can consider volunteering.
Our entire volunteer Emergency Medical Service quit.
In 2013, the small Texas town where I lived had no Emergency Medical Services. The entire volunteer unit resigned after an investigation by the Texas Rangers — it’s another long story.
Anyhow, this required the nearest emergency help to be dispatched from 25 miles away. It was a volunteer service that meant that everyone had to be paged, head to the station, grab the unit, and head out. We’d be lucky if they got to an accident within 45 minutes.
The city offered to pay the tuition for anyone willing to go to Texas A & M for a weekend and get qualified as an Emergency Medical Assistant (ECA). Combined with a couple of Emergency Medical Technicians and a Paramedic hired from a nearby town, a few more qualified people would allow us to resume basic service.
Not knowing what to expect, I became an Emergency Care Attendant.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t as scary as I feared. It was obvious I should have taken the training 20 years ago! I would have been so much better prepared for the emergencies my family faced.
We learned the basics of handling emergencies:
Wear personal protective equipment (PPE), always.
Assess the airway and breathing.
Perform Cardiac Pulmonary Resucitation (CPR).
Properly use the Automatic External Defibrillator (AED).
Stabilize the spine and safely transport the patient.
Operate the ambulance.
I went on to serve a couple of years, move up to becoming an EMT, and our small town’s Emergency Coordinator before I moved.
Honestly, being on call was way too much of an adrenaline rush for me, although I would have loved it when I was young.
Start at the most basic level of training.
You have a lot of affordable options to become certified as an emergency medical attendant, respondent, or trauma technician.
States have different names for the most basic level, but 43 states in the U.S. have a designated level below that of an EMT.
You will need to pass an exam to practice, but the training is quite straightforward.
Here are some training options to consider.
Start with the American Red Cross. Did you know they provide a training program based on the educational standards for an Emergency Medical Responder? It’s a dynamic 56-hour course, including hands-on skill practice.
Or start with the Red Cross CPR or Life Support class. Most cardiac events occur at home, and you may be the only person close enough to help.
Are you an outdoor aficionado? Hiking, biking, skiing? You might consider taking Wilderness Medical Courses. You can start with the two-day introduction to general medical concepts and necessary life support skills and move on from there.
Investigate becoming a volunteer certified emergency medical responder and volunteer firefighter. Usually, you will receive free training in exchange for a specified length of service.
Most community colleges also offer affordable courses that prepare you to take emergency medicine certification exams.
You never know when it might save a life.
Most cardiac events occur at home, and you may be the only person close enough to help. If you are first at the scene of an accident, you will know what to do.
I’m surprised at the confidence it continues to give me today.
Check out this link for more information about becoming a first responder.
Trust me; even if you never practice emergency medicine as a volunteer or professional, it will give you immense peace of mind to know the first aid basics.