Should It Be Obligatory

Do you think that first aid should be obligatory in school? I think that it should. When I was at school I was lucky enough to have been offered the chance to learn and it really has helped me.

 

At least the basics

 

We now have the so called shake drill. It is an earthquake drill to familiarize the public on how to act when the real thing happens. First aid is important in times of disaster. When a child learns first aid, it's not only the knowledge of treating patients that he learns but also the proper mental conditioning. I'm sure people who know first aid act differently from ordinary people when disaster strikes without notice. Take for example a fire in the neighborhood, first aiders know what to do while ordinary mortals are in panic.

 

In my country (Portugal), there isn't this type of regulation. First aid is more usually instructed when someone makes a formation in health facilities or health courses.

 

Oh yes! it definitely should. I had a very poor course in university only but still, it was very rushed and not well planned what I learned it was mostly from my martial experience and from reading e-books online. But I think it should be mandatory in high school at least.

 

In a survival situation, realizing that even a seemingly simple injury can become catastrophic, first aid knowledge even at the most basic level should be mandatory for your group. All medical knowledge should be shared among the group as well. If the one person with all the knowledge is disabled, the group as a whole could be compromised.

 

I think it’s very important for everyone to learn first aid. I’m a designated industrial first aid attendant at my work site. Majority of serious situations I begin treatments and have to train helpers to assist so I can continue stabilizing. It’s a lot easier training someone who has basic knowledge to assist.

When having to do triage there are usually more injured people then first aid personnel. The more trained helpers no matter what skill they have become very helpful in these situations as we can instruct helpers and move patient to patient quickly.

 

Even basic first aid is a valuable skill to have and your far more likely to use that skill then some of the things they teach in schools now.

 

Basic first aid that covers serious things like CPR, what to do if someone passes out and how to stop someone from bleeding to death in an emergency are things that everyone should know. The list of things that schools SHOULD teach kids before throwing them out to face the real world that they just ignore is endless. Kids these days don't even know how to could out change, ballance a bank statement or figure their gas mileage on their cars.

 

While doing practicum at a developmental center, I watched kids w/Down Syndrome balancing their checkbooks.

Not only should all students have course-work in serious first aid, there are all manner of skills they need to learn. I don't want to start a list, but y'all know what I mean; music, planting a garden, early child development, auto & truck basics (tire changing, engine basics, ...), hygiene, food and water safety, learn to swim, ... .

Kids today are disconnected from the real world and I do not think people realize how dangerous a condition this is.

 

There are as you say SOOOOOOOO many things that kids now days SHOULD be taught that is just skipped over by the schools AND the parents.

When I was young I think the thing that most shook me up was the first day home after the birth of my daughter. Everybody left and there we stood, my wife and I all alone with total responsibility for the care and development of this tiny baby. If you buy a cheap toaster they give you a little book filled with warnings and some sort of operating instructions! We had received a LOT of advice from a LOT of people. Much of it was contradictory and there was so much of it that it was all just a jumble. It was scary as HELL!!

In the old days families were big and kids have a lot of practice on little bothers and sisters under close watch of their parents and older siblings. Mom was mostly always there and by the time you had grown up you have a lot of practical experience. The last of the line kids weren't left out. they got to help with their many brothers and sisters kids.

Nowadays people have one or two kids and both parents work leaving the kids to a child care for warehousing. The kids are segregated by age so there is little opportunity for kids to learn anything about taking care of other kids. My wife and I had some experience so after the initial shock we settled in and did fine but kids nowadays have NO preparation whatsoever to be parents. In many cases they don't even have real parents that were an active part of their life. We are seeing the results of this in our schools these days. A lot of the schools social structures are reminiscent of the book Lord of the Flies.

We have turned our kids over to liberals for their education. They have little interest in preparing the kids to go out excel and succeed. They want them to be more liberal losers...the saddest thing is that the conservative parents are too lazy to do anything about it. They are too busy working making money and spending money to bother with their kids. The problem isn't just one sided.

 

I learned basic first aid in boy scouts and as a firefighter explorer. Here in the states they don't teach it in school. Not even CPR.

 

I have taken the st johns first aid course three time now, it is good for 5 years, still have the book.

 

My wife is retiring again and is now planning on starting a new business teaching and certifying healthcare providers that level of CPR. She has done it before and thinks it would be a nice way to make a little extra cash and keep her busy. She's the eager beaver in our familly.