19 Dec 2005
First Aid
I'm on a four-day course this week to become a qualified First Aider for work. As a biologist, I've got a reasonable grasp of how the human body works and the kinds of things that can go wrong, and as my Mum was1 a nurse, I've absorbed a lot of very sensible information from her about first aid, so I'm not finding anything too difficult so far. We've spent quite a lot of time today either pretending to be unconscious2, or pretending to treat people who are pretending to be unconscious. Actually, it's quite a lot of fun.
On the way back from the course, I was suddenly much more aware of all the people around me, and all the myriad ways in which they could have accidents or their bodies could suddenly pack up. It's ridiculous, but I was thinking, "Please, no-one have a heart attack or a stroke today, because we don't get to those kinds of things until Wednesday. Simple loss of consciousness, minor cuts, bruises or burns would be acceptable."
1 She's officially retired, but nurses never really retire---they just stop being paid for the care that they provide. ↑
2 In other words, pretty much my normal Monday work state. ↑
2
Jonathan Briggs: Yes, I do the same at work, wandering around on horrible nylon carpets with synthetic soles and wearing a fleece jumper. I have to earth myself on the filing cabinet before I touch the computer. bitweever:
Perhaps that's what my laminated, wallet-sized First Aid certificate is for?
-----
1
Should you ever need to defibrillate anyone, just rub me up against some PVC; I've been now to generate a spark 4" long(100mm for you youngsters). Failing that, rub me up against..........----- I took first aid as part of lifeguard training while I was in college. My favorite part (because of my grim sense of humor) was about stopping a sucking chest wound with a driver's license, or, failing that, a textbook. I could see myself coming up to an accident scene, and looking in vain for a dictionary...by bitweever @ 20/12/2005 7:13 pm • Permalink