Being a healthcare provider or someone who works in the healthcare field, I’ve decided to get my certification for CPR at Red Cross. Back in the Philippines, my professor has given us a rundown on CPR and effective emergency response but it was all theoretical and there was no practical demonstration involved. Dentists in our country aren’t also required to get certified or needed to have first-aid kit in their clinics. Not that I know of.

I took the initiative to get trained for CPR because I really wanted to be prepared and effective when it comes to medical emergencies. So there I was in a Red Cross office taking a full day training along with 11 other people from different professions. Some had already taken it and needed to retake it because CPR certification expires after 2 years and information changes. I was impressed that people in the US really take time to get trained and prepared for emergencies. The age group in my class ranged from 20-50.

The class tackled infection control, CPR, choking, and automated external defibrillator (AED). The lecture was very straightforward. We got to watch videos of how things are properly done. We also get to perform the procedures on a mannequin. I must say that it’s really hard to do those chest compressions and 30 presses at a time! The lecturer expounded on the manual provided and it was basically common sense and he didn’t dwell on many different case scenarios. There was a written exam after the class which was in multiple choice format and was fairly easy. There was no return demonstration exam which I didn’t expect. I was also able to get a manual, a breathing valve mask (mouth-to-mouth is not done anymore to protect the caregiver from infection), and a certificate card good for 2 years.

If you want to get trained for CPR, Red Cross has different classes for different professions and varying prices. I chose the class CPR/AED for the healthcare provider. Red Cross is not the only agency providing these classes and you might also want to check other organizations like the American Heart Association (AHA) but make sure those agencies are certified to train you on CPR. To learn more about taking CPR classes, visit www.redcross.org.

No related posts.