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Help please! :-)
Skara114 Offline
#1 Posted : 10 August 2012 00:20:23(UTC)
Skara114


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Hi all, I came across this site today and thought you could help me. I am interested in becoming a first aid trainer. I have no qualifications whatsoever. I have been a stay at home mum for the past few years and am now looking to do something that my children will be proud of. First aid is a subject that I am very interested in and have a little knowledge of. I have some experience though as a few times I have been the only person available to help! (right place right time!?!) that's the reason Im interested in a role like this. So, my question is..... Where do start?? Any advice would be great! Thanks in advance.  :-)
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JonAcc Offline
#2 Posted : 10 August 2012 07:03:31(UTC)
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Hallo and welcome to the site

It is great to hear that you want to make something of the next chapter of your life, but my personal opinion would be that without a much bigger investment of time and effort than you can probably begin to imagine, then this is not the right move.

Opinion is divided; there are those that believe that you can mug up on the subject and then go out and teach (rather like the old saying that there are those that do and those that teach). However, the overwhelming opinion seems to be that to teach the job well, you must first have experience, and that does mean real and ongoing experience. If you read some of the threads on here you will find that those that show the greatest insight into training have some professional background or long-term voluntary service experience, and in many cases are still working in an operational role of some sort.

There is no law stopping anyone from teaching first aid, even without any knowledge themselves. Listening to some experiences from people on some courses I have run, there are people out there who seem to do just that. If you want to train in the area where you can (try to) earn, you will need to be trained yourself first before you can do so under current regulations. There are companies out there who will take your money and give you a first aid certificate folllowed by a Trainer cert, but it won't necessarily make you a good trainer, and it certainly won't give you the real underlying experience. Good trainers also need to do lots of CPD and background reading, keeping up to date with developments not just in the UK but abroad, so it is not a static thing - I've learned the book so I'm set up for years now; that's not how it works even though it can be people's perception. Even with your certificate, you would be joining an overcrowded market, because first aid training is seen as a cheap and easy market to enter. If you are doing it for an income, you will be competing against the hobbyists and people doing it as a second job who have a main income somewhere else and will undercut you.

If you are still keen to proceed, I suggest join a voluntary service, get a couple of years decent and varied experience, get a few qualifications behind you, find a reputable Train the Trainer course and do that. But as you see, it won't be the quick and easy entry that many people assume it is.

Maybe not the answer you were hoping for, but it is an honest answer
Wiccan Offline
#3 Posted : 10 August 2012 07:35:28(UTC)
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Hi and welcome.  I agree with JonAcc, the first thing you should do is join one of the voluntary organisations such as St. John's.  This would achieve 2 things for you 1. Get you your training at very little if any cost and 2. Get you loads of experience by volunteering for duties.  This is the route I took and I have been teaching first aid now for 15 years.



Good luck & PM or email me if you need any help.



Samantha
admin Offline
#4 Posted : 10 August 2012 08:05:51(UTC)
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Just a thought - One area that you could look at is setting-up / tying in with a local community defibrillator (AED) scheme. A defibrillator, is a ‘electric shock-box’ to restart your heart after/during a heart attack. Its importance cannot be understated in saving lives. These are being installed in remote areas throughout the UK so the general public can fetch/use the AED before the paramedics arrive as saving seconds can save lives. Your involvement could be quite varied from fundraising, raising awareness and basic training.


As Jonacc said, you really do need experience in first aid before training the subject. It’s not that first aid is difficult (it’s not designed to be) but your trainees will ask you a very wide range of questions which only time and experience will enable you to answer and give confidence in and credibility to your training. A good starting point is to join your local St. Johns or Red Cross group.  First aid is either something that will rapidly disinterest you or something that you will love and be involved in for life (excuse the pun)

Skara114 Offline
#5 Posted : 10 August 2012 14:17:55(UTC)
Skara114


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Thanks all. That's great! I'm not looking for a short cut and am more than happy to put the work in and try to gain experience.I just didn't really know where to start, so your suggestions are extremely helpful. Thanks again :-)
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