CPR Training

I work in healthcare, and even though my hours are kind of sporadic, I do have to be CPR certified. This past week, I had to do some investigating on where would be the best and cheapest route to get recertified. The American Heart Association is the most well known place to get trained. When I called to get information, they explained that my card would be good for two years and accepted anywhere in the world, BUT it would be an all day course (9am-4pm), cost $110 and the first available class was in three weeks.

So...I started searching other options. I found some online options...like you pay a small fee, watch a video online and go to a certified instructor to check off on your skills..that sounded a little shady to me.

I called the Fire Department and GUESS WHAT...they do the course at the fire station, they are an AHA provider (which means I get the same card I would if I went to the source), only charge $5 (the cost of your card) and it takes 1-2 hours...SIGN ME UP!

{Photo Credit: DanOhh Design}

It was the real deal...classroom, stretcher with a practice dummy, air bag...the fireman who did the training did a great job. It was me and one other girl. I was concerned on why the time frame was so different from the official class at AHA. He said they show a lot of videos for the AHA which is why it takes so much longer. I have been CPR certified before so this was just a refresher course for me. He covered all the important stuff including child CPR and choking. Me and the other girl had to practice what we learned for 1 minute each individually and then show our skills for a minute together.

Here I am "fake" practicing. It's no joke when we were doing it for our skills test. CPR is hard stuff and I was seriously sweating when I got done after just a minute. I would encourage anybody to get this training. It's just basic life-saving knowledge. Especially if you have small children.

Sidenote: While I was there...I had to ask.

Why do firemen ALWAYS wash their trucks?

There are 3 parts to this answer:
1. They have to do a morning inspection of their equipment and truck to make sure everything is in working order. So they wash them during the process to make sure they cover the entire truck and it needs to be clean so they can inspect it accurately.
2. It gives them something to do because they often work 48 hours shifts (or longer) and they aren't out fighting fires that whole time
3. Back when fire trucks were first around, they were painted red which was the most expensive color of paint, so they have always kept them clean b/c it's a pride thing...even from the beginning to show they take care of their stuff.

Just thought I would share what I learned during my CPR training...don't say I never taught you nothing :)