Can you get certified for CPR and First Aid online?
Yes. Depending on the course offerings, they are legitimate. I highly recommend that you check out the following websites. ProCPR is gaining recognition all across the United States, and is a valid form of certification that meets or exceeds the standards set by the AHA and the Red Cross. The video training is all up-to-date with the latest 2010 guidelines (FYI: the prior update was in 2005, they don't do them yearly). http://www.ProCPR.org http://www.ProFirstAid.com You'll also need some hands-on training. For this you can use Blended CPR to find a nearby skill evaluator to check off your skills demonstration worksheet that you can get from the above programs. http://www.BlendedCPR.com It is definitely valid and has been used by hundreds of thousands of people across the country, and is growing in numbers every day. You should definitely check with your supervisor, though. Depending on your line of work, it may not *yet* be accepted. More and more places are coming on board, though. Full Disclosure: I'm an owner of the company, which is how I know how much acceptance we are getting.
What was your first time performing CPR like?
I am a lifeguard, meaning my first time CPR was not so pleasant (if that ever can happen).A man was drowning and he was unconscious when I pulled him out of the pool.So, when someone is drowning, you don't begin with chest compressions, but with breathing, because you want to push the water deeper into the lungs and then doctors will deal with it. Or you want to cause them to cough it out. Either way works, depending how much water they have in their airways…Did you watch Baywatch, the old series? Yeah, it was NOTHING like that. There was a bunch of people standing around you trying to get a better look, all saying what you should do, all those myths that are not true anymore but people don't know that…so, I was trying to be focused on my rhythm and correct breathing. I was alone and actually I knew I had 15 minutes till ambulance is going to arrive. 15 minutes of chest compressing is almost impossible, CPR is so so so physically difficult and with every minute your efficiency goes down because you are so tired.I told myself, what the hell, I need to keep doing it, I am saving someone's life. That's worth it. What greater can I do? People were still shouting and some of them even told me I am making him worse than better. Yeah, you can actually break a few ribs while doing CPR, but that will only prolong their hospital stay and you saved them…I tried to filter them out, to not to listen to them, but they got to me. I began questioning myself. Am I going quick enough? Am I pushing it deep enough? Is my mouth to mouth good? Will he live? All those questions…I nearly gave up, when I was saved by a man telling me, he's a doctor and he can keep going so I can rest for a few moments. I was looking at him like at a blessing for God. We changed places and he started CPR. I tried to move those people away from us, or farther away so we could have some space. We kept rotating unless the ambulance came. The man survived after nearly 45 minutes of CPR.The reason you keep doing CPR on a drowning person is that while they are in water, their body temperature goes down and you need to bring it back up in order to restart the heart…I even heard of a case when they tried to revive a man for almost 2 hours…Being a lifeguard is not easy. Nor being a doctor or anything else. While everybody else gives you space to do your job, give it also to lifeguards…they are saving someone's life…