First aid is the process of providing care to someone who is injured, ill, or sick. First aid covers everything from cleaning a wound to performing CPR.
The main goal of first aid is to help the hurt person until medical professionals can take over. While some skills can be practiced at home or online, a formal course and certification is highly recommended.
Many courses offer a rotation where you can practice first aid on your friends and family, making it an interesting party game. Even though you may have learned how to perform first aid on someone at school or work, it is important to keep up with updates and changes in the field.
Updates are made constantly due to new research and findings on how to best care for someone in need of first aid. This includes learning about new medicines, bandages, and treatments that help heal someone.
This article will discuss some attributes of a rescuer when applying first aid.
Be calm and composed
First aid is a stressful situation, even when you have prior training. The more calm and composed you are, the more you can help others who are panicked.
If a victim is panicking, they may do more harm to themselves by trying to escape the situation or remove any afflicted body parts.
Removing any affected body parts is a funny joke, but in this case, it is not true. A victim may also resist your assistance due to panic, which may make your efforts harder.
When giving first aid instructions, be clear and concise. Do not hesitate or waver when telling someone what to do. This will prevent further panic from victims and other helpers.
You are already doing a good job being calm and composed! Keep up the good work.
Take your time
A rescuer should never try to move, transport, or treat a victim in a hurry. A rescuer should always take their time to assess the situation, identify the problem, and implement a solution.
Too often, people try to help someone else by rushing things. They may feel pressure from those around them or from their own sense of urgency about the situation.
However, this is not helpful and can actually be harmful to the victim. A rescuer should always focus on taking proper care of the victim while assisting them.
In first aid, slow down and think before you act. This will help you identify what steps to take next and whether they are appropriate for the situation. It will also help you avoid making mistakes that could negatively affect the victim.
Focus on the task at hand
When you are giving first aid, it is easy to get distracted. You may feel nervous, afraid you are doing something wrong, or you may feel overwhelmed.
It is important to focus on what you are doing and how you are doing it. Don’t worry about anything else except for helping the victim.
For example, don’t worry about what medical care they will receive later, or whether or not they will survive. Your only concern is providing them with the best care right at that moment.
This area of concentration helps prevent additional stress and worry, which can negatively affect your care and the victim’s outcome.
When giving first aid, try to limit distractions and focus only on the task at hand. This will help you improve your response time and quality of care given.
Follow instructions to the letter
Following instructions is an important part of first aid. If someone who has some medical knowledge tells you to do something, then you should make it a point to do it.
There are many reasons why this is important. For example, let’s say that someone tells you to apply pressure to a specific area on the body to control bleeding. If you do not apply sufficient pressure, then the person may die from blood loss.
Or let’s say that someone tells you to keep the person warm by using a certain type of blanket or placing them in a certain position. If you do not do this, then they may suffer from hypothermia later on.
These are just two examples of many that can prove this point. When entering into emergency situations, making sure to follow instructions to the letter is a very important quality of a rescuer.
Stay in control of your senses
Rescuers must also control their senses in order to appropriately respond to a situation.
You should be able to work with your senses under difficult circumstances, like in a crisis situation where there is panic and chaos all around you.
You must be able to concentrate on what is happening around you and on what you are doing in order to render appropriate assistance.
You must be able to suppress your emotions in order to stay calm and think clearly. You must also be able to ignore what you hear and see in order to focus on what is important.
You must be able to handle the smell of blood and other bodily fluids without being nauseated or losing your composure. You must also be able to handle the feel of soft tissue like flesh, fat, and bones in order to assess and respond appropriately.
You must be able to keep your emotions under control in order to respond appropriately during an emergency situation.
Tell yourself it’s only a training exercise
The scenario is intense, but you have to remind yourself that it’s only an exercise.
You have to be able to separate what’s happening in the training scenario from what you would do in a real-life situation.
This is one of the most difficult parts of a first aid training session, and it takes experience to be able to do this.
As a rescuer, you have to be able to respond naturally to the situation, even though this is a planned exercise with set steps that you have to follow.
In order to do this, you have to know your response very well and be comfortable with it. Then, when in the situation, you have to be able to tell yourself that this is just an exercise and not real life.
Do not rush to help someone else without permission
First aid is a sensitive topic, as it involves touching and caring for someone else while they are in a vulnerable position.
However, first aid is also controversial because it can be harmful if given to the wrong person. This happens when help is given to someone who does not have permission to help the person in need.
It is important to know that there are cases where assistance cannot be given to a person due to their condition. For example, if a person has a disease that they are not aware of, then they may not want help from someone who does not know about their condition.
In this case, you must respect their decision and refuse to give assistance. Similarly, if the person is deceased, there is no use in giving first aid– you must accept the fact that you could not save them.
Maintain the proper position for applying first aid
Rescuers must also consider their position as they apply first aid. You should not attempt to apply first aid unless you are in a safe position to do so.
If you are in danger, then you should focus on getting to a safe place before applying any treatment. Once you are in a safe position, you must consider your ability to maintain proper positioning while treating the victim.
If you are injured yourself, then you must consider your ability to maintain proper positioning while treating the victim while suffering from your own injury.
If either of these cases is true, then you should ask for help from someone else who is able to provide assistance. They can either take your place or assist you in applying first aid correctly.
It is important to know that just because someone is more experienced than you, does not mean that they are able to correctly apply first aid. It is important to know the attributes of a rescuer when applying first aid.
