Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire First Aid Training

First Aid was mentioned on another thread. Got me to thinking about where First Aid training has been heading.

I was first certified in First Aid in the fall of '74. It was two hours per week for six weeks. The course covered birthing, tracheotomy, pressure bandages, splints, sucking chest wounds, tourniquets, (when to use AND when not to) etc, etc.

I continued to keep certified with Red Cross classes for the next three decades and watched as the training devolved into "tell the victim to keep pressure on the wound and call 911) though they did continue with proper CPR training. Hell, that was years before I even considered the purchase of a cell phone, nor at that time did I spend much time where a cell would have gotten any reception. The places where an accident was likely to happen, farming, riding for cattle, cutting wood, and hunting certainly had no reception.

The last dozen years, my recerts have been limited to CPR which now includes hands only CPR and defib operation. Defib....good, hands only.....not so much IMHO.


Guess we are all supposed to be good little sheep and wait for the "good shepards" to come rescue us.

agree 100% Shooter...

I've always been in favor of requiring a First Aid Certification, like the one you got back in 1974
to be required before someone is issued a drivers license unless they qualify for some waiver...

like an 80 yr old Grandma doesn't have to stop and give someone CPR.. just have a cell phone and
know how to call 911...

Once they wanted medical first aid to save someone's life if need be... now its sorta hopefully
save someone's life, without pissing off lawyers somewhere....

Having the victim do as much for themselves as possible has been the result of learning the many different diseases that one can contract from blood and other body fluids. Having been an EMT as a living for 32 years and as a volunteer/paid on call for several prior I have seen many changes in how we deal with the injured. All have been for the better for the most part, at least for the rescuer with the Red Cross courses being dropped to the level of the person on the street and those doing this as a job of some sort getting a more thorough bit of training.

When I started, the use of gloves, glasses, and masks were unheard of. One did their best to not get blood or other body fluids on themselves but it was not easy for a significant trauma or a messy medical. With the increased awareness of the various diseases one can contract from patients, the less exposure to blood and the like the better. Today this goes even more so as those not engaged in EMS as an occupation as the typical person does not carry with them the various personal protective equipment that an emergency responder would. From personal observation and experience, it is not the least bit of fun waiting for the incubation time of an exposure to pass and, even worse, dealing with a disease that has infected you. Being quarantined is not all that enjoyable and loved ones do not like it at all- especially if they get to be quarantined too.

As for hands only CPR, that is a boon for those in cardiac arrest. In the last few years, primarily since AIDS became known and furthered with the awareness of the various types of Hepatitis, TB, MERSA, et al that one can get from strangers there has been a strong reluctance for bystanders to provide assistance to those in need. Hands only greatly minimizes the reluctance as one does not need to do mouth to mouth. Cells begin to die in 6 minutes due to lack of oxygen. This is in a body which has no circulation nor air exchange at all. Hands only CPR gets blood moving which allows the cells to exchange CO for O2 in the blood which is in the arterial system giving the patient several more minutes of delayed death. Chest compressions also give a little bit of exchange in the lungs which add a couple more minutes for rescuers to arrive. If the patient does not receive better care in the given amount of time, the odds of survival are pretty much none.

Providing air without an airway tends to add air to the stomach which is not good. Odds are the patient will vomit which makes for a rather disgusting attempt at mouth to mouth as well as having vomit aspirate into the lungs. This pretty much makes further resuscitative attempts pointless as the vomit damages the lungs causing pneumonia and other problems decreasing an already slim chance for survival.

There is still a lot I disagree with in regards to patient care but I can generally agree with what is being taught to the general public. Given their limited training, experience, equipment, and ignorance/fear of risks keeping things as simple as possible is in their best interest. The first rule for any rescuer is to not become a victim themselves and that includes diseases as well as injury.

An EMR class is a great way to help folks.

Yes, its expensive and takes 80 hours....but its a pretty good level for people.


I have never seen "first aid" classes offered in this area.

My 15 and 11 year old will be getting certified in Red Cross CPR and first aid next month. It’s a basic knowledge that EVERY citizen should possess and as my 15 year ventures into the part time job market I want him to have as many certifications as is possible for a 15 year old. I tell him that in order to standout in his peer group having taken it upon yourself to get basic certifications shows initiative. Our 11 year old daughter babysits occasionally and wants to do more so these certifications are important and the babysitter cert from the Red Cross will increase her value. Just like firearm safety, water safety and being able to effectively defend and protect yourself having first aid training is imperative and will be invaluable throughout ones’ life. I want my children to grow into capable and confident young adults and it’s a job we take seriously.

Thats a good deal.

I dont hire babysitters, but if I did knowing that they had the training to handle a choking incident would be great!

You bet Jim. It’s just good knowledge, besides, nobody wants to be a helpless bystander. Knowledge builds confidence and I want my kids to be confident and capable not having to rely on a YouTube video to get them through the day. 😉

You guys get any rain yet?

ETA....I’ve taught all my children the basics of ABC’s so I’d like to think they’d handle it well but the Red Cross certs and training will reinforce their knowledge.

An alternate is Wilderness First Aid, sanctioned by NOLS. Weekend course and one instructor described it as McGyver Medicine. Concept is what to do assuming you are hours from the trailhead. Not offered in as many areas as the RC courses, but since I spend quite a bit of time out of cell phone coverage (by choice) I am glad I have attended.

Everybody should know basic first and should have a good first aid kit in their home and all their vehicles. I'm amazed at the number of parents that don't know basic first aid, even how to treat the cuts and scrapes their kids always get. It's not that hard to learn and doesn't take lot of time either. My SIL's Father had a heart attack 10 years ago and my SIL still feels guilty that he didn't know how to do CPR properly, his Mother didn't either.

I've been on calls that turned out to be diaper rash the "mother" did not recognize let alone know how to handle. Such small cuts to the fingers which one could not even squeeze out a drop of blood. Then the ones with the flu who refuse to accept they will have to feel bad for a couple of days until the virus runs its course.

Those are only a couple of call types I go on nearly every working day. People have become so helpless that they call for the least little thing. In 3 decades our run volume has gone from 1800 EMS runs to 4200 with only a 10% increase in population. These "minor" calls were unheard of when I started, they have their own category with subcategories now.

We got some snow a while back. The boys went on a grass fire today.

Red Flag Warning tomorrow!

This drought is going to keep hanging on.


My oldest knows some basic stuff. I try to pass on some of my training to them.

When I was on the County Search and Rescue for a couple of years, they offered at no charge a Wilderness First Aid
course.. when I went thru the material, the course that is normally $400+ via RedCross or AHA, it looked familiar...

for what it worth to anyone, it even credit the material to the Boy Scouts...

it basically consisted of 3 merit badge books, that can bought for $5 each and are written at a 5th grade
level, so they are easy to understand....even the instructor was skeptical until I brought him in all three
merit badge books...then he asked could he borrow them... and later just gave me the money to buy
him all three books at the Scout Store...

a little knowledge goes a long way in time of need...

can you list those books?

would like to give to a friend and her kids

Jeez, you just triggered some flashbacks. New mother whose baby wouldn't stop crying, fed an diapered and baby went to sleep. Smashed fingernails, trip and fall, no KO, people just want to be checked out. Schools were the worst. Everyone got checked out for whatever reason, most transported for liability reasons.

There seems to be a big gap between a basic first aid class and a full blown EMT cert. That gap needs to be filled and it should be a class that doesn't cost $400 to attend. I had a Los Angeles County and California State paramedic license for 30 years and felt like I should look into a wilderness first aid class but it just seems so expensive for what it is.