Basic Life Support

Nursing goes well on Garretson Ave. Sarah finished her CNA course, loved it, and I will be starting it in about a week. CNA stand for "Certified Nursing Aide". A CNA generally works in a long-term care facility (like a nursing home) to provide care for the residents. Not exactly in my long term plan, but I think that working as a CNA will provide me with clinical experience that will help me a lot in my nursing courses.

Every little bit helps. Although it was MORE then 10 years ago (ack!) my limited stunt as an EMT is actually really turning out to help me. In the EMT course and working I probably took about 100 blood pressures, and the techniques that I used helped Sarah a lot in that part of her skills exam. It also helped me ace my BLS course that I took yesterday.

BLS, "Basic Life Support" is what most people think of general CPR. This class that I took yesterday was a bit terrifying. Things have changed since I left for Samoa-- they now teach us how to use AED (Automated External Defibrillator) but was really worrisome is how much they dumbed down the procedures. Although we were told that the new guidelines were just as effective, I really felt that they simply simplified the steps to a point where a trained service dog could probably be taught to give CPR. Which is great in that more people can give CPR-- but since effective CPR will break ribs and likely cause internal damage, is this really something that you want ANYONE to be able to do?

The instructor walked in an immediately assured the students that there was nothing to worry about in the class. She told us that the point of the class was to help us pass the test. "Don't worry, we WANT you to pass!" This alone got the red lights flashing in my brain-- I thought that the point was to learn how to save lives. Oh well, minor point. The new system is actually improved in that you spend a majority of time watching videos and practicing and lectures are actually cut down to almost nothing. The test is also better-- more common sense and "what do you do next" questions. Still, I seem to remember in the last BLS class I took in Seattle there was a lot more information and the skills were a lot more complex.

But the most important difference was that back then you didn't get the card unless you really knew what you were doing. We had one woman who didn't even pass the test and the instructor went over her wrong answers and made her do it again. Eek! I hope I don't collapse in front of her!

If you ask me, it's this results-oriented rather then process-oriented approach to problem solving that is ripping our society apart.