CPR and AED familiarisation

Last Wednesday I attended a CPR and AED familiarisation course at NUS’ SRC Dance Studio. I went partly to decide if it should be suggested to the biodiversity group.

The relative incompetence of the class (myself included) dissipated during the two hours spent on CPR and AED. The 30 mins of practical training with a mannequin and AED device helped considerably and the fact everyne was serious. There was one joker who probably felt awkward about the drills but my group simply ignored him and kept their focus.

The practise sessions were conducted in small groups at a 1:5 ratio due to instructors from OSHE, Wellness and a few other places. It made for a modest but effective session with all objectives achieved.

While this was definitely not a first aid course the two hour session equips individuals to provide proper CPR assistance to family or lab members - correct administration of CPR pushes blood to the brain in lieu of a pumping heart and improves the chances of victim survival. Furthermore the supportive role of AED is clarified to the class as it does not replace CPR. The person conducting CPR really needs to stay focused until the AED is setup, and the patient prepared before the AED users informs him its setup. Improper use or knowledge may impede assistance and possibly even contribute problems so even this short training is critical.

Bondi lifeguards apply CPR and use the AED - the whole sequence right to recovery position.
And what a relief when they say, “It’s okay mate…” and Takahiro Ono remembers his name!
Taken from Bondi Rescue Series 1, Ep 4 (2006) and Australian Screen’s Teacher’s Notes.

I recall Keropokman went for an AED introductory session last November. That was not enough so he needs to go for a session like this one :-). Just like we intend for the staff and graduate students in the biodiversity group to attend this as well.

Collectively the instructors who conduct the training are able to effectively answer all the queries posed, which were certainly varied! Doesn’t the plastic suffocate the patient? Sessions are comfortably conducted at the SRC Dance Studio, opposite YIH in groups of 20. NUS staff can book a session through this webpage. You’ll find yourself much more confident after.

There have been two casualties of heart failure of some sort in NUS last year. One to whom first aid was applied but it was just his time, and another who did not receive any CPR assistance. We regret their loss and the CPR and AED course is one step in improving the capability of colleagues.

The AED unit near my block is located in the loading bay between S2 and S1A.

In the video above, it was lucky the lifeguards all happened to be nearby; it’s used for teaching in many schools now, including this NUS course! For further inspiration, read about our own Esther Tan: “Student saves heart attack man in Holland Road,” by Ong Rui Lin. The Electric New Paper, 26th February 2006. ‘I was still shaking back in school’. And see “When Hearts Stop: CPR & Defibrillators”.

You were saying…

Hey November, if I can figure out how to change the surrounding greys to the original cheery yellow, I’ll try. It’ll take me some time to tend to the trimmings. The “oldblog” and “blog” subdomain links have finally kicked but thanks for the alert anyway. I came back home to find the feed links made a smooth transition too.

Thanks mis_nomer for the thumbs up on the speed, what a relief for me too! Even posting was a pain before.

Hey Lekowala, unfortunately in order to import my old posts, I’d have to do some extensive “shot in the dark” tweaking. Time better spent cycling, as you would agree.