ECN Forum Forums Safety Discussion and News Occupational Safety Discussion Occupational First-Aid

I've recently (last week) completed a course in Occupational First-Aid (Patient-care)and another in Emergency Spinal Care.
It took 4 days of 8 hours, but well worth the time spent.
Tell me, as a First Aider at your workplace, do you get sent on these courses?.
I am the First Aider at my workplace, but I have to do my own training and pay for it myself, the reason being, I'll get the most benefit out of it, in the end(?).
Do you guys have the same stumbling block?.
Or do I just work for an egg-head?.

My employers have always paid for First Aid for all their employees, but it is usually outside work hours. When I think about it, the union shops provided training during work hours.

Some employers also pay for "Transportation of Dangerous Goods", "Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System", "H2S Alive" or CPR. They complain, but they pay.

I have heard of employers who don't pay, and I've always thought they were egg-heads.

I guess I'm lucky. When I was younger, I read the Red Cross 1st aid book, and grew up on "EMERGENCY!", so I guess I just gravitated towards being a "go to" guy when folks get hurt.

(I'm not discussing my accident prone childhood. In fact, I deny that I ever had a childhood. Next question)

Fresh out of college, I paid for myself to go through EMT class; years later, I'm a FF/Paramedic at my "day job", with training paid for by the City. Now, when working as an EC I'm the guy at the job site who gets all of the "eewww - you're gonna need stitches" type injuries from the other trades.

At my last EC my foreman was a Lt. on my VFD, so we'd trade off on telling guys they should go to the hospital.

Doug,
This is the one thing that rips my britches about my Boss' comments, sure I get trained, but it will always be someone else that benefits from the knowledge that I have gained.
And for my Boss to start running down the St Johns people that ran the course is just not on!.
These people are Operational Ambulance Officers(Paramedics), most of whom I have worked with at MVA sites, and if they don't know First Aid, we are all in trouble!.
He reckoned his course would have taken half as long and taught me twice as much, not sure who he was talking about, they must be idiots just like him.
He even moaned about us carrying Rubber gloves in the Vans, in case we did come upon an accident while out in the feild, and considering that I have controlled the bleeding of 7 people just passing an accident site, while on the road, it should shut his mouth!.

We get CPR, First Aid and rescue training paid for by our employer. We even practice removing people from different types of machinery. Everyone has an assigned task, and they don't always tell us when the drills will be, so we get a chance to function in as close to a real situation as possible.

Yes, I have done the real thing too and it's definitely not fun.

Dave

Since I own my company I get to pay for it all. That is one area that it is foolish not to have more than one person trained in. After all what happens if the one and only first aider is the injured party?
It is also necessary to make sure those trained know thir limits and when to send for help.

[sarcasm]Well geez, Mike, I kinda see his point - couldn't you just use your Lineman's gloves, and hose 'em off when your done? They are rubber, right? [/sarcasm]

In our trade, I wish it were part of training from apprenticeship on, to know CPR & basic first aid... A while ago I read a story in the LA Times where a utility worker (LADWP?) was connecting feeders in an underground pull section for a house that was being remodeled... The utility worker lost his balance & fell arms out into the hand hole & became "hooked up".. The electrician working on the project pryed him loose with a wooden pole & performed CPR, saving this guys life.... I've personally been witness to things such as framers shooting themselves in the foot & hand, window installer pushing through the pane & slicing his arm seriously & a drywaller half cutting his finger off with a stanley knife... Having that CPR card makes me feel safer with my 4 year old son also

-Randy

people typicaly know more about thier livelyhood that about how thier bodies keep them alive don't they?

so when some of us take the inititave to learn the latter, what happens? we become the poster boy for safety, and get the nod from management

until we start sending people to the er, creating paperwork, downtime, expense, etc...

then we're a liability, no longer the insurance premium reduction asset we started out to be....

~S~

[This message has been edited by sparky (edited 07-05-2004).]

As a new dad again, I was very greatful to renew my CPR and First Aid and also to add infant and child CPR paid for by my employer.

Shane