Every individual must be trained in First Aid(CPR)..it can save one Life..do u agree?

Answer 1

Yes, I agree completely. I believe it should be a requirement to be certified before you can graduate from High school and college.

Answer 2

Learning basic first aid and CPR is a good thing. I'm an instructor for the American Red Cross and support its efforts.

However... there ARE some downsides.

1. As has been pointed out- we laypeople rarely 'save' anyone with this, contrary to what TV teaches us.

2. CPR is part of a problem we have in the US with death. We tend to send our loved ones away to die in the hands of strangers rather than surrounded by the ones they love. We treat death like something we should be able to 'fix'.

3. Of the skills people NEED to know- basic finances, parenting skills, and so forth would help more people far better. Most of us will never need first-aid skills beyond bandaging.

4. If 'save a life' is the goal, then maybe everyone must give blood?

Answer 3

I don't think everyone should have to train in first aid and CPR. I'm a paramedic, and an unfair truth in life is that most of the time CPR doesn't work. In controlled environments (an ER or ICU) when a team of medical professionals jump right on a patient with airway management, crash drugs, defib, chest compressions, ventillations they can frequently bring these codes back. In the field, circumstances are not so good. When you get to a patient they may have already been down for 10 minutes. You have 2 people to establish and maintain an airway (intubation), ventilate, do chest compressions, start an IV/IO (I'm a firm beliver in IO), push drugs, attach pads from your monitor, defib, etc, etc.

I've also seen countless times that a well-meaning civilian has done more harm than good. Training to "save lives" is a lengthly process that takes years.

I don't mean to discourage. I always encourage people to get out there and learn CPR, but I also try to let them know that their chances of saving a life are slim at best, but slim is certainly better than none.

Answer 4

i disagree. saves don't occur because of CPR (it's over hyped). only about 3-5% of the people that go down are saved. it's usually because the rig arrives within 5 minutes and the is a doc within 10 minutes that can push the right drugs. the AED is useless unless the patient is in v-tach or v-fib, any other rhythm and the machine won't shock. sure the Heimlich and rescue breath's are good, but far to many people would go straight for the CPR . this is bad because pounding on the chest can actually cause the heart to slip into a non-shockable rhythm. as you can see the problems related with the whole "everyone CPR certified craze." just to many details to remember and not many people have the time required to maintain these skills.

Answer 5

I have to very strongly disagree. As a paramedic I have been in a position to "save a life" with CPR on numerous occasions. This includes not only CPR but a high tech airway, drugs and a defibrillator. I have NEVER saved a life in the field. I have witnessed a save in the ER when all this high tech treatment was applied immediately and under the right circumstances but that was on a single occasion. Check the statistics. Only 2% of heart attack victims are saved by CPR and when they are it is usually because the heart stopped as the result of an outside force and not from heart disease. The patient also is in a younger healthier age group. Sorry, but this whole CPR thing is a lot of hype. An don't be fooled with the AED thing either. It only works for certain conditions and unless you have a medic or a doc with drugs it's value is kind of slight as well. On the other hand the choking treatment taught with CPR is very valuable as can be rescue breathing but neither is actual CPR.

Answer 6

I was a certified Emergency Medical Technician for a few years. I ended up choosing another career however, I definately agree that everybody should be trained in basic first aid including CPR. My brother recently died at the age of 42 of a massive heart attack. I believe that if somebody was there with some CPR training, he might of had a chance. If anybody is interested in taking this potentialy life saving course, call your local health dept. and ask what courses are available. Sometimes they are free or at most a minimal charge. You may also try the American Heart Association for available courses. Who knows, you may end up saving a life. What a gift that would be.

Answer 7

I can tell you from experience about an instance where CPR did save someone's life, at least temporarily. While I was an LPN in RN nursing classes, a few of my classmates and I stopped at a restaurant to eat lunch. Across the aisle from us and behind me, an elderly lady was eating with her son and began choking on a piece of meat. One of the waiters had rushed to her aid and was attempting to do the Heimlich maneuver, however he was not trained properly and was pressing too low on the belly to be effective. Some of our nursing class ran over to them and announced that we were nurses and offered to help. The waiter gladly gave up his position and we went to work. The Heimlich maneuver was not working, so we lay her down on the floor. She was not breathing and her color was quite purple by this time. She was unconscious. No pulse was detected. CPR was initiated at that time and we had the waiter call 911. Before the EMTs arrived, we had the woman's heart beating again, and she had a weak thready pulse, but she was alive. If we hadn't been there, would she have lived long enough for the EMTs to have rescued her? The waiter was trying, bless his heart, but I don't believe he had formal training in CPR. We left the restaurant at the same time as the victim left with the ambulance. We never got to hear if she made it or not. But we felt good knowing we had kept her alive long enough for the ambulance to arrive. I believe that CPR training should be started in high school and definitely in college. And certainly, people should at least be trained to call 911 immediately and know how to clear the breathing passages, and the proper way to do the Heimlich maneuver.

Answer 8

I definitely agree, Strange!
In fact, I believe basic first aid, including CPR, should be taught in every single High School as a subject- a requirement before graduation. Every person should have the knowledge and skills that would allow them to save lives. I think it is even more important than all those algebra and calculus classes I took that I never used again. What do you think?

Answer 9

Honestly, I will agree with Medic1234 and Gaze above me. I have been a paramedic for 10 years, I can count on one hand the number of "saves" that was only becuase I was at the right place at the right time and we arrived there in less than 5 minutes of the person "going down" . I am now finishing up Medical school and becoming an ER doc and still it really doesn't matter. The chance of saving someone's life are less than 3 % and that is being generous.

Answer 10

I used to think so; but I have seen a few attempted resuscitations which went badly due to poor training or misinterpreting simple fainting for cardiopulmonary arrest.

Also, I am not nearly so inclined to become involved as I was while working as a health care professional.

I agree that CPR and first aid can save lives. But likewise, it's not for everyone and the best intentions of a rescuer may do more harm than good.

Answer 11

I agree, every person should be trained in Standard first aid and CPR. It can save a life. I also feel that the US should make it difficult for the patients to sue their rescuers for damage.
It is OK to break ribs when doing CPR. If you don't break them your doing it wrong.