IS your first aid or CPR certificate due for renewal? Here are 4 reasons you should renew it!
If it has been more than a year since you last completed first aid or CPR training you are likely due to renew at least the CPR component of your certificate. Why should you keep your certificate current? Well, beyond various workplace and employment requirements, it is good to refresh your first aid and CPR skills for a number of reasons.
1. YOU MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT TO DO…
If, over the past 12 months, you haven’t had to use the skills learned in your last first aid course, you may have forgotten some of what to do. It’s a case of out of sight, out of mind. As with most things, it’s good to refresh your skills regularly, so if you are called on to use them you are confident in doing so, allowing memory recall to happen quickly and without hesitation. Which can be vital in an emergency.
2. THINGS CHANGE…
As with all things, for improvement and better practice, first aid treatment guidelines change over time. For example, the treatment for snake bites has changed, as has best practice CPR. If you do not keep refreshing your training, you will be left behind, and possibly be providing incorrect or out of date treatment.
3. YOU COULD SAVE SOMEONE YOU LOVE…
We might be guilty of saying ‘I will refresh my first aid course one day’, but the reality is, unless we need a certificate for work, we never actually get around to it. Now is the time to stop procrastinating! Emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere. Whether you are driving a car with family or friends, grocery shopping with your mum, or at the park with your children, you could be confronted with having to perform CPR or first aid. Good enough reason to keep your skills in practice and current!
4. YOU NEED IT FOR WORK…
Does your workplace have a first aid officer? The First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice recommends first aiders attend training on a regular basis to refresh their first aid knowledge and skills and to confirm their competence to provide first aid. It may help to be up to date and current whilst on the look-out for a new job, or if you are about to complete a placement for a nursing degree, or any other job which may require you to have a current first aid certificate.
TIME TO ACT IS NOW…
If you haven’t done CPR training in the last year, it is time to refresh your CPR skills. Book into a HLTAID001 Provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation course to refresh your skills and renew the knowledge required to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in line with the Australian Resuscitation Council Guidelines.
How long has it been since you did a first aid course? By refreshing your first aid training, you ensure your skills are up-to-date with the latest knowledge and treatments methods. Act now and book into a HLTAID003 Provide first aid course to learn all the necessary skills and knowledge required to provide first aid responses, life support, management of casualties, the incident and other first aiders, until the arrival of medical or other assistance. This will cover your annual CPR certificate currency requirements.
If you would like learn the latest appropriate first aid responses for all sorts of injuries and illnesses, for example treating stings, you should look into our range of our first aid courses.