Do you know CPR?

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I am posting this here because a) while it was inspired by current events in sports, it's not specifically sports-related and, b) I didn't want to derail the ongoing discussion in the Sports folder:

I am a fan of Bomani Jones, and one of the things that he has semi-regularly brought up is how he was surprised when he started college by how many students were unprepared for college. He owed his level of awareness to the fact that both his mother and father were college professors, and he more or less grew up on college campuses, so he didn't recognize the privilege he had in being familiar with the process inside and out. In a similar vein, my mom and dad were both hospital corpsmen in the Navy, and I was a Boy Scout who was part of a troop which always took pride in winning and/or being highly competitive in the First Aid Meet every year. So, when I enlisted in the Navy myself, and they would offer annual CPR courses, I always signed up to get a refresher, make sure my skills were still sharp, et cetera, but it surprised me to learn how many people there were in the Navy who didn't already know CPR. Because of my upbringing, it hadn't even occurred to me that CPR was not common knowledge.

And so, I ask my fellow residents of KingsFans.com: how many of you know CPR?

 

[QWERTYLICIOUS]

I am posting this here because a) while it was inspired by current events in sports, it's not specifically sports-related and, b) I didn't want to derail the ongoing discussion in the Sports folder:

I am a fan of Bomani Jones, and one of the things that he has semi-regularly brought up is how he was surprised when he started college by how many students were unprepared for college. He owed his level of awareness to the fact that both his mother and father were college professors, and he more or less grew up on college campuses, so he didn't recognize the privilege he had in being familiar with the process inside and out. In a similar vein, my mom and dad were both hospital corpsmen in the Navy, and I was a Boy Scout who was part of a troop which always took pride in winning and/or being highly competitive in the First Aid Meet every year. So, when I enlisted in the Navy myself, and they would offer annual CPR courses, I always signed up to get a refresher, make sure my skills were still sharp, et cetera, but it surprised me to learn how many people there were in the Navy who didn't already know CPR. Because of my upbringing, it hadn't even occurred to me that CPR was not common knowledge.

And so, I ask my fellow residents of KingsFans.com: how many of you know CPR?

Only because it is Friday and I am too dang lazy to retype what I've previously posted elsewhere...I quote one of my earlier comments...

Also, we need more and more out there to familiarize themselves with First Aid/CPR...Go out there and get certified. Training is widely available, and anyone can go and do it. Sure, you have to be physically able to perform first aid/CPR, but even then, if you need to make slight modifications, they can be made (at least from what I've heard and been told).

I, myself, am not certified, but am very much so interested in getting certified down the road. I have some physical limitations, but intend to exhaust any and every resource available to me in order to be able to efficiently administer should I ever find myself in a situation where I need to step in.

 

[macadocious]

Glad you put the 3rd option.

 

[SLAB]

Have to get re-certified every two years for my job. Actually have the refresher course at the end of the month.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I put yes but I'm between Yes and the third option. I get trained (but not certified) every few years at work and thus far I've never had to put it to the test. I do think I would be comfortable administering both an AED and CPR if nobody more confident was there, or to provide relief to the main person doing the CPR (the chest compressions are actually quite a workout).

 

[Warhawk]

I was a Boy Scout

Same - Eagle Scout. Learned way back then, but I don't think I ever took any training course as an adult.

 

[Löwenherz]

I’ve done enough CPR in my past life as a first responder to feel effectively certified in perpetuity. By the end of my career, I began equating chest compressions with plunging a toilet. (Although, that’s slumming it on the BLS side. Maybe @Fireplug will swing by and talk about things on the ALS side).

Even still, quality CPR within the first several minutes of a cardiac arrest is basically the determining factor of whether a person is going to live or die. So please, get trained, get certified, and get refreshed regularly.

That said, even as an EMT, I felt frustrated by the continually altering guidance: 30:2, 15:2, Rescue Breaths Optional, Rescue Breaths Discouraged, 15:2 again, currently 30:2 unless two responders with a child or infant, etc. I could see how the constant changes might dissuade certified people from initiating CPR if they didn’t feel completely comfortable in the first place.

Other reasons I’ve heard from people as to why they might be reluctant to administer CPR is:

1: Concern of not doing it right

- At the point of needing CPR, the patient is effectively dead. As patient’s statuses go, that’s really the worst. You’re not going to make them more dead, and doing something wrong is better the doing nothing right.

2: Not wanting to hurt the person

- Again, the patient is effectively dead already. Even if you do “hurt” the person, they’ll have to be alive to worry about it.

3: Not wanting to break ribs

- This is actually a thing, and I essentially went into CPR assuming this was going to happen anyway. It’s neither a reason to stop nor never start. A sore chest is better than dead.

4: Not wanting to be sued

This isn’t The Incredibles. Good Samaritan laws are generally pretty strong, and unless you are displaying gross negligence, such as, I don’t know, actively stuffing rags down the patient’s throat, then this shouldn’t be a concern. I once had a family member pummeling my back with her fists screaming “you’re making it worse!” while I preformed CPR on her mother. If I didn’t get sued then, neither will you.

5: Not wanting to give mouth to mouth

Completely understandable. Professionals don’t do this. We use a BVM (bag valve mask) or at the very worst, a mouth guard (which I’ve never actually seen in use because we always had a BVM). The only time I’ve ever seen a professional give direct mouth to mouth was an X-ray tech to a neonate. I’d say that’s about the only time I didn’t cringe at the thought of direct mouth to mouth.

Fortunately, chest compression alone should circulate enough standing oxygen through the body to maintain the patient until better equipped professional help arrives.

Along those lines, there is a misconception that CPR is actually going to resuscitate the patient. It’s not. Generally only electricity or drugs are going to do that (also why knowing how to use an AED and where they are is vital). I have heard of rare occasions in which CPR alone has revived a patient, but I’ve always questioned the validity of those stories, and think the misconception that that is the norm can lead people to suspend CPR because they think it isn’t working.

The purpose of CPR, despite the name, is not to resuscitate patients; it’s to buy time until electricity or drugs can arrive on scene. Until then, keep on the chest and only stop if relieved by another responder taking over.

And yes, chest compressions are quite a workout. Just like plunging a toilet can be.

 

[mrlaze]

I realized after the recent earthquakes just how unprepaired I am. No cpr, no water filter, no battery back up for my phone.

 

[Ozymandias]

I sure do, but surprise, I was an Eagle Scout as well (I'm seeing a pattern in this thread btw haha).. I'm not like currently certified but I vividly remember sitting thru hours of courses with terribly dated videos. I was a fully certified lifeguard at one point


I had a really smart teacher though they made sure to hammer home the point that everyone forgets what they've learned in these courses in days or weeks, and you've gotta remember because its really important, guess that stuck with me..