A Rude Unhinging of the Machinery of Life

[gfish]

In 9th grade I had the option of taking a first aid class as a trimester of PE, and it was one of the most rewarding classes of my pre-college education. I think it met 3 times a week, so we covered lots of material, getting very in-depth into the medical details. Lots of bandaging practice, including full immobilization on a backboard. The drama club was involved to create practice scenes, with bystanders who would freak and pass out, generating another patient to be cared for if you didn't calm them down. It has been the foundation of my medical knowledge ever since. I loved it.

I've taken a couple of first aid/CPR classes since, but they've all been disappointing. The focus of first aid is, of course, keeping someone alive until the ambulance arrives. Which is a perfectly good goal, but it's not very interesting. Today was the first half of the wilderness first aid class with vixyish and adularia. So far, I'm loving it. Real patient examinations, working towards real medical conclusions. The focus with wilderness first aid is not just keeping someone alive for 15 minutes, but maybe up to a couple of weeks. Possibly moving over very difficult terrain. It's simply great.

I should really go for EMT training some day.

Comments

Ah , the memories.....

[barefootorbust.livejournal.com]

I remember that class very well...I was one of the "victims". It was my job to run into the room and scream. Hehe. It wasn't members of the drama club, as we didn't have one that year. It was random people picked by the teacher. But it was really, really fun and I ended up playing "victim" for other classes around town. Can't believe you remember that.

I have a friend who works for Peace Health down here and her job is to teach those kind of first aid classes, complete with "victims". She mostly focuses on disaster training.

Re: Ah , the memories.....

[gfish.livejournal.com]

Hee, that was you! I had forgotten.

Re: Ah , the memories.....

[avicado.livejournal.com]

Well, it certainly wasn't me. They must've started doing that after my class, as I have absolutely no recollection of that even being an option for us.

But we did have a drama class. One guy (me) and I believe at least six women.

You know how hard it is to find a play that has roles for one guy and six women?!?

[chatworthy.livejournal.com]

Go for Wilderness EMT. After taking a first-rate wilderness class, you might already qualify for basic EMT, at least as I recall it.

I took EMT in 1989 at the Grand Canyon. This was while Wilderness EMT was in the fairly early stages of being developed. We got the city basic EMT course, with as much "but up here at the Canyon, we'd need to do -this-" as could be crammed into the course hours.

Once I returned to Tucson, I spent a couple years with the local volunteer SAR group, including a couple of stints as a victim.

I think you'll like search-and-rescue, and be good at it.

[lemniscate.livejournal.com]

Hello. Flata told me to come post here. I was an EMT in California, and I'm now in Paramedic school in Ontario.

I am of the opinion that EVERYBODY who is capable of handling the course should become an EMT in the states. The EMT course is inexpensive, short, easy, and a ton of fun, and it makes you a valued member of society.

Being an EMT gives you an incredible sense of security about yourself and those around you. Say you were walking down the street, and a lady pushing a baby carriage starts screaming that her baby suddenly stopped moving... I would want to be one of the people who knows how to help, not one of the people who stops and stares.

My advice is to go to EMT school. Whether or not you end up working on an ambulance is irrelevant; the vast majority take the class and simply apply it to their lives.

[samildanach.livejournal.com]

Neat! Are you taking the Mountaineers' MOFA class, or Wilderness First Responder, or something else?

I gather you're already aware of the UW Mini-Med lectures, but I found them interesting as well this past winter.

[gfish.livejournal.com]

This was the Wilderness First Aid from Remote Medical International (http://www.remotemedical.com/wilderness-medicine-training/Wilderness-First-Aid-WFA). Nothing too fancy, but a good class. I'd love to do the Wilderness First Responder or even Wilderness EMT, but not anytime soon. =\

[mathochist.livejournal.com]

Hey, one of my coworkers, Tal, was at that class. Small world. :)