Our second to the last NSTP Common Module was an important one, and something that I think

should be taught in schools as early as elementary. It was about First Aid Response. We were
taught the meaning, objectives and importance of first aid, the role of the first aider, qualities
that should be possessed by the first aider, how to respond during an emergency, and basic first
aid.
The class had three speakers for the day. The first speaker talked about the first aid: the
meaning, its importance, and the objectives. Although it was a short part, it was enough to instill
in us, the audience, the real value of first aid. I learned how important first aid is in situations
that medical care cannot be given immediately. As a first aider, I must always carry this within
me so that I do not lose sight of what is important during a first aid response.

First aid kits should always be readily available. This means that as a first aid responder, I must
always have with me a first aid kit. It does not have to be complete, just the basic and necessary
tools and items. First aid kits will not always be available wherever I go, so it’s a good practice to
always have one. You never know when you might need to respond quickly to a medical
emergency.

Assessment of the situation is always an important first step. Before I was enlightened by this
talk, I always assumes that first aid requires that you thrust yourself into the situation to be able
to help the person in need. I then learned that it is not such a good idea to thrust myself. I first
need to assess the severity of the situation. Is someone already administering first aid? If so,
then maybe I can assist with doing something else such as crowd control. How dangerous is the
situation? Will I be putting myself in jeopardy? I also need to consider my own safety. How
about the person needing first aid? Is he/she breathing, responding, conscious or alive? How
about other injuries on the person’s body? First aid would be useless if the person would not be
able to benefit or if the life can no longer be safe. Keeping these things in mind, I would be able
to conduct a primary assessment and full body assessment afterwards. This would help me
decide the best course of action and the ideal first aid treatment that I can administer to the
injured.

First aid techniques were also taught to us. I won’t go into the details since it would take us a
long time, but what I do remember the most is the proper way to administer Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation or CPR as it is more commonly known. I always knew that 100 beats per minute
is the proper tempo, but what I didn’t know was that songs such as Stayin’ Alive, Cecilia, and
Man in the Mirror could be used as a guide for doing chest compressions. It was also nice of
them to require audience participation, and that they invited some people from the crowd to try
some of the techniques, even if it was just with a dummy.

The talk was very informative, and it gave us students the skills needed when responding to a
first aid situation. Remembering all the techniques is hard, but keeping in mind the real value of
first aid would allow us to administer it properly. I still wish that first aid was taught to all year
levels in the school so that everyone would know the proper procedure and the proper response
during a crisis.