Those of you who have read some of my previous blogs will know that I like to find out whether attending a course has made a difference to people. Let’s be honest, we can all sit in a course and fill in the evaluation form at the end, but has it changed how you work?
I had some great feedback from a learner this week. She had attended a one day first aid course recently. At the end of the course she approached me and said that she realised a diabetic emergency was not on the syllabus, but would I be able to talk her through what she would do in this situation. I was happy to oblige, and we had a chat about the useful guidelines which I could share about how much glucose to give someone. The current guidelines state 15- 20g of glucose and if no glucose tablets, 20g is found in:
- 160 ml of isotonic drink
- 200ml fruit juice
- 4 teaspoons of sugar in water
About a week ago, I got the email below from her:
‘You recently conducted an emergency first aid course which I attended. You may recall I asked you at the end of the session about diabetic hypo and hyper. Would you believe that just last week whilst on holiday in the lake district I had to attend to a hypo. His levels went down to 1.4. We had the defib out ready and I was surprised about how calm I felt about the prospect of having to use it (that could well have changed had I actually had to go through with it) due to your tuition. I managed to get his level up to 1.5 through Lucozade but he kept fleetingly going unresponsive. The first responders came and so did the ambulance so they took it from there. Thank you’
It was great to get this feedback, and I was especially pleased about how calm the individual felt in the circumstances. That really shows the impact of training – and in this case the practical approach of the course.
So if you need to polish up your first aid skills our next open courses are in June (as well as Food Safety) – get in touch for details!