Whether first-aid training is required for your workplace by OSHA, or if you want to increase safety at your organization, workplace first aid training is an excellent way to improve your fiscal bottom line and helps to cultivate healthier workplace culture. Having a workforce trained in first-aid will reduce the severity of any health emergencies, which will lower your healthcare-related costs. And, a workforce that knows its safety is valued by their organization is more productive and loyal. This kind of work environment, where safety is valued, makes your organization more attractive to prospective hires. In this article, we’ll discuss what first-aid training is, what it may cover, how long first-aid certification is good for, and where to get workplace first-aid training.
What is First Aid Training?
In first-aid training, you learn how to provide life-saving care for injuries or sudden illness, until proper medical care becomes available. According to OSHA, “The first-aid provider in the workplace is someone who is trained in the delivery of initial medical emergency procedures, using a limited amount of equipment to perform a primary assessment and intervention while awaiting the arrival of emergency medical services (EMS) personnel.”.
What Do You Learn in First Aid Training?
While all first-aid training will cover the basics, workplaces might add additional modules based on individual needs. For example, organizations in Florida might add training on how to treat bites and stings from insects and snakes. Here is a list of some of the topics you can expect to be covered in workplace first aid training.
- Using preventative strategies to decrease fatalities, illnesses, and injuries.
- How to work with your local EMS.
- The importance of a list with current emergency numbers including police, fire, ambulance, and poison control, that all employees have easy access to.
- How to understand the legalities of offering first aid to people. This includes education on the Good Samaritan legislation, State and local laws, and other legal contexts.
- How to move past barriers to action, such as intense stress, infection concerns, and full-blown panic.
- Use universal precautions to protect yourself from bloodborne pathogens and other possibly infectious substances. This includes education on personal protective equipment like gloves, eyewear, masks, and respiratory barrier devices, and how to safely dispose of blood-contaminated items and sharps.
- Learn how to assess the scene of an emergency, including evaluation on any toxic threat that would require breathing protection.
- How to prioritize care when there is more than one person injured.
- How to assess a victim physically.
- Learn how to take a victim’s medical history and determine how they were injured.
- Education on performing a head-to-toe check for injuries and the importance of monitoring the victim continuously.
- How to safely move and rescue victims.
- Learn how to reposition a person to prevent further injury.
- How to recognize and treat shock in victims.
- When and how to use CPR.
- How to handle poisoning, including poisons that were ingested or inhaled. This includes covering how to treat exposure to chemicals found in the workplace.
How Long is First Aid Good For?
First-aid certification, similar to CPR certification, lasts two years from the date of course completion.
Who Primarily Benefits from First Aid Training
While we’ve discussed the financial and workplace culture benefits of first-aid training, the primary beneficiaries are people who experience injuries and sudden illnesses on the job. And since accidents are unknowns, as are health issues, the entire workplace benefits from first-aid training. Workplace first-aid training increases the survival rates of people who have a health emergency. EMS can take precious minutes to arrive, and first-aid training prepares people to act quickly and effectively to help someone in need of emergency medical care. There can be actual price tags attached to some of the benefits of workplace first-aid training, but when it comes to saving a life, that is priceless.
Where to Get First Aid Training for the Workplace
BioFunctional Health Solutions (BHS) is a premier provider of workplace first aid training. Our experts will design a course that fits the unique needs of your workplace. By creating an engaging atmosphere that facilitates learning, our experienced teachers will effectively train your workers in life-saving first aid. Holding workplace first-aid training is easy and cost-effective. Now that you’re ready to get started, reach out to BHS today.