First Aid Basics

What this unit covers

First Aid Basics sits in the strand Foundations of Emergency Care, within Emergency medicine and first aid. The resources were made by GoConqr users and cover the core of emergency response: checking for danger, responding, opening the airway, giving CPR and using an AED. They also cover injuries and conditions such as burns, bleeding, fractures, seizures, fainting, diabetes and poisoning.

Where to start

Begin with the mind maps. One of the top-listed maps follows the order of an emergency: danger, response, airway, breathing, then calling for help and starting CPR. Maps such as DRSABCD and Steps for the Recovery Position give you the same sequence in a compact form.

Next, move to flashcards. One deck lists the three objectives of first aid, the principal pressure points and the classifications of burns. Another, ELS1, asks what DRS ABC stands for and what to tell a bystander when requesting an ambulance.

Testing yourself

Quizzes are where you find out what has stuck. The Adult CPR AED, Child CPR AED and Infant CPR quiz asks about the rate and depth of compressions. The First Aid practice test (Health 9) covers open wounds and universal precautions. The Lifesaving Society- Emergency First Aid Test asks when to start and stop treatment, and what to do first with an unconscious child.

Using maps and quizzes together

1. Read a map, such as the one on treating a concussion or head injury.
2. Cover it and try to recall the steps.
3. Take a quiz on the same topic.
4. Note what you missed and revisit that branch of the map.

Shorter topic sets help with single areas, including Helmet removal, Seizures / Epilepsy, Blood loss and Carbon monoxide poisoning.

Make it your own

Once you know what you find hard, pick one topic and try a quiz on it today. Then write your own flashcards or draw a map of the steps in your own words.