SureFire CPR
Do you know what to do in the event of an emergency? Could you perform CPR if it was necessary?
Many students do not have the knowledge or background to jump into action if someone suffered a cardiac episode. Teacher Diana Dow offers monthly CPR certification courses at the VEC for $40. Anyone who is interested can sign up. The Emperor Grapevine decided to send two of its reporters to attend a session on March 25th and report their findings.
Our reporters are Geraldine Figueroa, who has no previous experience with first aid, and Pedro Hernandez, who is currently enrolled in the Certified Nurse Assistant program and is scheduled to receive his pin for this program in May. The following are their stories.
Geraldine’s POV
Many lives have been saved by people who’ve trained in CPR, which stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and First Aid. My experience with the preparation and hands-on exam was new for me. Before I started the training for my certificate, I had no experience with CPR or First Aid, or AED.
Before your hands-on exam and training, you are given hours of courses to complete. In these courses, you are given facts about various emergencies and how to handle them. After you are taught about all sorts of dangers like a heart attack, a bleeding, an allergic reaction, and more, they give you scenarios for you to answer which step is first and correct. This part was surprisingly shocking for me because I thought I knew what to do in situations that the courses presented, but I was wrong. It taught me the correct steps and information about the danger that I am sure hardly anyone knows unless they research it.
For example, I did not know how to place your hands to perform CPR, how many breaths to give, or how to use an AED. An AED, which stands for Automated External Defibrillator, is a machine that delivers an electrical shock to stabilize the rhythm when someone is unconscious and unable to breathe. In the training, they taught us the placement of where hands or gadgets should go for the procedure to be successful.
The hands-on training and exam were held at Dinuba Vocational Center downtown, and the instructor was Diana Jow. We practiced how to use an AED on life dummies of a child and an adult. It was interesting for me because there was a lot of pressure on me as I had never practiced any of these safety procedures. Doing CPR was one of the most stressful on child and adult life dummies as well. During my turn, I wanted to treat my training as a real case of an emergency, and it was hard for me to do it all at once and give chest compressions and check for air, as well as do mouth-to-mouth after.
Overall, this experience was exciting and made me feel good about myself, knowing that I can apply what I’ve learned to save someone’s life, whether it’s a family member or a stranger in need. The more people who undergo proper training and courses, the more lives will be helped and possibly saved.
Pedro’s POV
I have already been certified in CPR due to my CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) class. From my experience, CPR is a lot harder and a lot less heroic than it is seen in movies. CPR is often depicted in movies as some magic way to bring someone back from the brink of death instantly. Well, how true is this?
CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a lot harder than it seems; movies don’t show the ugly side, where 5 to 10 chest compressions revive someone. In reality, the minimum expected amount of compressions is 90 chest compressions per minute, along with three mouth-to-mouth breaths. All of this is the bare minimum needed to get the heart beating again. CPR isn’t pretty; it’s exhausting and can sometimes be damaging to a person, as the constant pressing on someone’s chest can lead to bruised or even broken ribs. While this outcome isn’t ideal, it is better than dying. However, some people do have DNR’s ( Do not Resuscitate). If someone has a DNR paperwork, you are obligated not to do CPR, either because they wish not to be resuscitated, whether it be because they have a terminal illness or brittle bones, either way, you can’t perform CPR on them if they have a DNR.
Before we underwent our hands-on training, we had to complete an online course that covered basic procedures, such as securing a scene and ensuring it is safe for everyone involved. In addition to this, the online course covered dos and don’ts, including proper CPR technique and how to apply an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) correctly on someone. The online assessment was fairly easy since I knew the majority of the information discussed from my CNA class.
Our hands-on training was an hour and a half. Our instructor was Diana Jow. The first thing she went over was basic procedures, such as assessing situations to determine if the area is safe for others and yourself, and acting accordingly. The next was administering an EPIPen and applying a tourniquet. Then we went over CPR training on an infant, which was weird, as for them, you can only use two fingers to perform CPR. Then, CPR on an adolescent, which only requires one hand, and then adult CPR, where both hands are needed to get the heart beating again. Most of the processes I was familiar with, except the adolescent one. I had never done CPR with one before, and it was semi-hard, but due to my experience, it wasn’t too bad to learn.
Overall, our teacher, Diana Dow, was exceptionally patient and helpful. Despite having some experience with CPR training as a CNA, I still learned some new things. I recommend that everyone get CPR training, as it is an important life-saving action that can be easily taught with minimal effort on your part. In conclusion, CPR is a valuable skill to learn, as it can potentially save the lives of your family or others by simply knowing CPR and basic medical procedures.