Purpose
The primary purpose of the American Red Cross Responding to Emergencies: Comprehensive First
Aid/CPR/AED program is to help students recognize and respond appropriately to cardiac, breathing and first aid emergencies. The courses in this program teach students the knowledge and skills needed to give immediate care to an injured or ill person and to decide whether advanced medical care is needed.
This program is designed primarily for use in secondary schools, colleges, universities and other settings that require a curriculum of greater length than the American Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED program.
Prerequisites
None
Length
Course length varies depending on the course taught and inclusion of optional lessons. The core course, Responding to Emergencies Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED, is 30 hours.
Program Objectives
Before Giving Care/Checking an Injured or Ill Person
- Describe how to recognize an emergency.
- Identify how to reduce the risk of disease transmission when giving care.
- Explain how to activate and work with the emergency medical services (EMS) system.
- Understand and identify major body cavities, body systems and anatomical terms commonly used to refer to the body.
- Explain how to check a responsive and unresponsive person for life-threatening and non-life-threatening conditions.
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of shock and describe how to minimize its effects.
Before Giving Care/Checking an Injured or Ill Person
- Recognize the signs of a cardiac emergency.
- Identify the links in the Adult and Pediatric Cardiac Chain of Survival.
- Describe how to care for a heart attack.
- Recognize the signs of cardiac arrest, and demonstrate how to give CPR until emergency medical care arrives.
- Identify precautions to take when using an AED on a person in sudden cardiac arrest.
- Demonstrate how to use an AED.
- Demonstrate how to care for a person who is choking.
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of a breathing emergency.
First Aid
- Recognize life-threatening bleeding and demonstrate how to control it.
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of various soft tissue and musculoskeletal injuries, and demonstrate how to care for them, including splinting.
- Identify signs and symptoms of head, neck or spinal injuries.
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of injuries to the chest, abdomen and pelvis, and describe how to care for them.
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of sudden illness – including poisoning; bites; stings; and substances such as stimulants, hallucinogens and opioids – and describe how to care for them.
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of heat-related emergencies and cold-related emergencies, and describe how to care for them.
- Describe the care given to a person experiencing anaphylaxis.
- Demonstrate the use of an epinephrine auto-injector.
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of water-related emergencies.
- Describe unique considerations when in an emergency involving children, older adults, people with disabilities and people who do not speak your language.
Optional Topics
- Understand the basics of pregnancy, and describe how to give care in emergency childbirth.
- Identify special considerations for first aid care in disaster, remote or wilderness settings.
- Describe the preparation for venturing into an environment where help may be delayed.
Courses
In addition to the core course, Responding to Emergencies: Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED, the Responding to Emergencies program contains a variety of additional course options depending on the ages (adult, child or infant) and skills (first aid, CPR and AED) desired to be taught including:
- Responding to Emergencies: First Aid
- Responding to Emergencies: Adult First Aid/CPR
- Responding to Emergencies: Adult First Aid/CPR/AED
- Responding to Emergencies: Pediatric First Aid/CPR
- Responding to Emergencies: Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED
- Responding to Emergencies: Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR
Certification Requirements
In order to successfully complete the course and receive certification, students must:
- Attend and participate in all class sessions. Note: If a student must miss a session, the instructor should assign the appropriate make-up work to cover the course material missed during the student’s absence.
- Participate in all skill sessions.
- Demonstrate competency in all required skills and scenarios.
- Pass each section of the written exam with a score of 80 percent or better.
Instructor
Currently certified American Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED, Emergency Medical Response and Lifeguarding instructors and instructor trainers are eligible to teach courses in the Responding to Emergencies program – no additional instructor certification is needed beyond those current American Red Cross instructor certificates.
Certificate Issued and Validity Period
Upon successful completion of a course in the Responding to Emergency program, students receive American Red Cross certification specific to the course they completed. All Responding to Emergencies certifications are valid for 2 years from the date of course completion.
Student Materials
- American Red Cross Responding to Emergencies: Comprehensive First Aid/CPR/AED textbook – available for purchase from the Red Cross Store (www.redcrossstore.org)
