Certified first responder

From ArticleWorld

A certified first responder is a person who has completed a certain amount of training in providing emergency medical care. In general, the required amount of time varies between 40 and 60 hours. They are considered to be more skilled than those who are trained in first aid techniques, but are not emergency medical technicians.

Skills and limits

The amount of training certified first responders receive allow them to carry more advanced first aid techniques. They should be able to recognize unsafe locations and avoid them when offering first aid, to protect from pathogens, to control the bleeding of wounds and to apply splints. In addition to these, they are trained to conduct a primary patient assessment, to recognize medical conditions that require professional help, to engage in emergency defibrilation and a number of other techniques that vary from one set of medical regulations to another. They are allowed to administer certain drugs. However, they are not professional doctors, and the skills they posses is not comparable to that of a professional doctor.

Some local regulations require police officers and firefighters to have a first responder certificate.

Education

Almost everyone can receive training in order to become a certified first responder. People who receive this training are often selected because it is possible for them to be the first ones who come close to a medical emergency, or because they live or work far away from medical help. Such eligible people include lifeguards, park rangers, teachers, drivers, bodyguards, pilots and sport coaches.

Many countries where these certificates exist choose to provide this training free-of-charge for some people, since it is cost effective to train people in areas too remote to receive professional medical help immediately. However, this is not an alternative even for basic similar professional medical training.