Training - Safety Training Pros

How to write a patient care report

Posted on by SafetyPros in In-Service, Lifeguard, Professional Rescuers, Rescue, Title 22 Leave a comment

Many emergency responders including Lifeguards, complete a patient care report on the incidents they respond to. Responders involved in the incident need to complete the appropriate report form as quickly as possible after providing care. Record only factual information of what was heard and seen and any action taken. Do not give personal opinions.

Documentation is important for legal reasons as well as for tracking when, where and how often incidents occur. Reports provide valuable information for facilities to use when they assess safety protocols, such as staffing levels or placement of lifeguard stations.

Here is a checklist of questions providers should answer before submitting a report:

  • Are your descriptions detailed enough?
  • Are the abbreviations you used appropriate and professional?
  • Is your report free of grammar and spelling errors?
  • Is it legible?
  • Is the chief complaint correct?
  • Is your impression specific enough?
  • Are all other details in order?

 

1. Check descriptions
Upon the completion of every incident, your report documents all events that occurred. This includes a detailed assessment of the situation and a full recounting of the treatment administered to the patient. It is specific, informative, free of ambiguity and negligence.

  • Which arm is the patient having pain?
  • Is it the upper or lower part of the arm?
  • What was the timeline of the incident?

 

2. Check (and recheck) spelling and grammar

Your report should paint a picture, but this is impossible to do without proper English. Besides not being accurate or professional, incorrect English may very well lead a reader to believe something false. For example, there may be confusion (and laughter) if a report says “patient fainted and her eyes rolled around the room.” Though this is a humorous example, dire consequence can follow confusing reporting.

Reporting should be free of misspellings and the understanding of what you are trying to say should be clear. For example, the trauma surgeon should have a good understanding of the mechanism of injury that brought the patient to the hospital from reading your report.

3. Assess your chief complaint description
An area of the report that is frequently misused is the chief complaint which should explain why you were needed or why the patient is being treated. Chief complaint is not the cause of the injury. For example, a chief complaint is pain to the right lower arm, not the fact that the patient has fallen off a ladder. Using the patient’s own words is an appropriate practice if they describe symptoms of their chief complaint.

4. Review your impressions
An impression encompasses the reasons for patient treatment. Trauma and fall are too vague to be used as impressions. Include the body areas or symptoms that are being treated. In other words, what treatment protocol is being followed?

If you are following a stroke protocol, and your assessment indicates a possible stroke, this should be included in your impression. Multi-systems trauma injuries bring additional challenges, but if multi-body systems are involved, they all should be included in your impression of the patient.

5. Check the final details
The patient’s SAMPLE including past medical history and medications are important to note. Document the patient’s history completely. Remember bystanders or those close to the patient can often provide valuable information about the patient.

Another important aspect to clearly document is the outcome of your treatments. Some reports have a standard text box that indicates improved, but in your narrative you should clearly document how the treatment improved the patient’s condition.

After the incident and upon completion of the report writing, you may be asked to attend an operational debriefing. The goals of the debriefing are to examine what happened, assess the effectiveness of the EAP, condier new ways to prevent similiar incidents and to be alert for stress reactions after a critical incident. Be sure to avaoid assigning blame or criticizing anyone’s actions or reactions.

For additional in-service training at your facility, contact the rescue professionals at Safety Training Pros 844-900-SAFE (7233).


Cruise Lines and Lifeguards

Posted on by Trainer in General Leave a comment

In 2013, six months after a four year old boy nearly drown on one of its ships, Disney Cruise Line quietly became the first and only major cruise line to have lifeguards. That is up until now. Royal Caribbean International has put a help-wanted ad out for lifeguards. This is GREAT! Major kudos to Royal Caribbean in seeing the value and necessity of having trained lifeguards stationed at aquatic areas located aboard the ship.

According to Cruise Lines International Association, more than 1.5 million children are aboard cruises every year. While some cruise ships have over 1,000 employees aboard, there are no lifeguards aboard three of the biggest cruise lines — Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Lines.

thSeveral children have drowned or nearly drowned in pools on cruise ships in recent years, leading critics to question the industry’s pool safety practices. Having a “no lifeguard” sign isn’t enough. It doesn’t keep people safe. Kids don’t read signs and some children can’t even read what the sign says.  In June, an 8-year-old boy was pulled from the pool on Anthem of the Seas after being submerged for eight to 10 minutes, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. He died two days later. This is only one example of several accidents that have happened at sea while families have been on vacation.

Its always important to remember that Lifeguards are there for emergencies but nothing should take the place of a parent/guardians watchful eye and close presence on weak and non-swimmers. More cruise lines, like Disney and Royal Caribbean, should take the initiative to prevent accidents before they happen.

If you are interested in becoming a certified Lifeguard please visit our website or call us at 844-900-SAFE (7233). We continually add classes for the 2017 aquatic season including Lifeguard, Waterfront Training, Safety Training for Swim Coaches, and Title 22.


Who is Resusci Anne?

Posted on by SafetyPros in CPR, General, Rescue, Training Leave a comment

We’ve all seen her, and many of us have learned our lifesaving CPR skills on her. You might ask who was the inspiration for that pleasant, yet enigmatic face on the Laerdal Resusci Anne manikin?

As originally reported by Kristine Rice of American Safety & Health Institute

It would seem that “Anne” came from the face of a French girl, found drowned in the Seine in Paris in the 19th century. The mouleurs (model-makers) were asked by a pathologist at the Paris mortuary to make a cast of the victim’s face, and it quickly became the mask-and-bust studio’s best-seller.

This little mask of the intriguing mystery girl has become fodder for poems, novels, and stories ever since, but the best use to which it was put came in the mid-1950s, when toymaker Asmund Laerdal used it for his first CPR manikin.

Snopes.com also weighs in on the story in their refutation of an urban legend about the origin of Resusci Anne’s peaceful visage. This often-repeated version credits Dr. Peter Safar, one of the creators of CPR, with modeling Anne after his own daughter, lost in a drowning accident.

Not quite, says Snopes. While Dr. Safar did unfortunately lose an 11-year-old daughter, it was not by drowning nor did he himself create a manikin. Our thanks instead must go to Laerdal for the creation that life-like manikin for CPR training still widely used today.

Safety Training Pros utilizes Laerdal manikins in all our CPR classes because of the realistic features, anatomically correct landmarks, audible feedback that reinforces the correct compression depth, and realistic chest compression resistance that allows our students to experience the amount of pressure needed to perform proper chest compressions in a real-life situation. Even though Laerdal manikins have one of the highest price points in the industry, the hands-on real-world simulation practice is worth it. Get rescue ready, get your CPR training from Safety Training Pros!


Good Samaritans give CPR to cyclist

Posted on by SafetyPros in CPR, General, Rescue, Training Leave a comment

News, Weather and Sports for Lincoln, NE; KLKNTV.com

Great reporting by Jenn Schanz jschanz@klkntv.com:

“Bruce Benda and Buck Williams were looking forward to a day on the road with their motorcycles.

They had planned to ride to Branched Oak Lake, but took a detour in Pioneers Park on the way.

It was there, they saw a biker in desperate need of help.

“You could see there was no breathing, and there was really no distress, he was kind of just laying there curled up into a fetal position, and just…things weren’t right,” says Buck Williams, who performed CPR on the biker.

They thought the biker, a man they guessed was in his mid-fifties, may have had a heart attack.

While they waited for the ambulance to arrive, the two friends stayed by the mans side.

as Buck did CPR, Bruce comforted him.

“We made him as comfortable as we could, took his helmet off him. I put my sweatshirt underneath his head. Then we just proceeded to talk to him, tried to communicate with him. Let him know to hang on, that we were there,” says Bruce.

After minutes of compressions, Buck says the man had a pulse once the ambulance got there.

American Red Cross Training Specialist Sue Alby says it’s the first few minutes of a cardiac crisis that are key.

“For every minute a person goes without breathing, and essentially without a heartbeat, it can reduce their chance or survival by ten percent,” she says.

Buck and Bruce even made the trip to the hospital with the man, and visited him later that day.

Bruce says they don’t feel like heroes, they just did what anyone else would have done, looked out for one another.

The latest update on the biker is that he is critical, but stable condition. “

To get your American Red Cross CPR certification, call us at 916-538-6447 or click here to enroll in an upcoming CPR class.


How to Meet Current OSHA CPR & First Aid Training Requirements

Posted on by SafetyPros in CPR, CPR for Business, General, Training Leave a comment

Have you been meeting your OSHA mandated CPR and First Aid training requirements for your employees online? Online training alone does not provide the hands on CPR, First Aid practice required by current OSHA standards.

As OSHA states on its website osha.gov, “the word ‘train’ is defined as “[t]o make proficient with special instruction and practice,” Webster’s II New Collegiate Dictionary, 1995, p. 1,169. These standards require training in physical skills, such as bandaging and CPR. The only way these physical skills can be learned is by actually practicing them. OSHA’s Best Practices Guide: Fundamentals of a Workplace First-Aid Program, 2006, p. 11, states that a first-aid training program should have trainees develop hands-on skills through the use of mannequins and partner practice”.

When every second counts, your training matters! Train your employees right the first time with fun, fast, effective and affordable CPR and First Aid training from Safety Training Pros. Call us today to schedule your training at 916-538-6447 or visit us at www.safetytrainingpros.com

CPR certification, first aid training, OSHA training


How To Become a Better Lifeguard

Posted on by SafetyPros in Aquatics, Lifeguard, Professional Rescuers, Rescue, Training Leave a comment

Set yourself apart from the crowd by adding Advanced Lifeguard Training to your resume. Our training is only offered once a year in Sacramento. To schedule your advanced lifeguard training now, contact Katryna Anderson at Safety Training Pros at 916-538-6447.

For over 10 years we’ve been giving advanced Lifeguards the tools they need to effectively train and supervise aquatic staff across the Western United States. The course incorporates the latest in industry trends and data with years of aquatic operations experience to provide the nations leading lifeguard development workshop. The trainers understand the relationship between a lifeguards ability to solve problems, make decisions, communicate and work as a team, and their ability to perform in critical situations.

This course is designed for experienced lifeguards who wish to improve their Lifeguard skills and those employees that will be in management or training roles. The training date this year will be Saturday, April 6th, 2013 from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. This course fills up quick, so make sure to reserve your training space early!

Not a lifeguard yet? It’s fun and easy to get your lifeguard certification and become a trained professional rescuer. Contact Safety Training Pros for more information 916-538-6447 or go to safetytrainingpros.com.


4 Reasons To Use Digital Certification Cards

Posted on by SafetyPros in CPR for Business, General, Training Comments Off on 4 Reasons To Use Digital Certification Cards

Digital certification cards are the electronic form of a print certification card. What the student does to receive the card is not any different – meet knowledge and skill objectives as observed by an authorized Safety Training Pros CPR Instructor. Essentially, print or digital, the CPR training certification represents exactly the same thing.

Why should you consider using digital certification? Here are the top 4 reasons:

1 – Students lose their certification cards. With digital certification cards you never have to purchase replacement cards because you’ll always have access to the digital certification for the duration of the student’s certification period. Simply request an additional copy of your electronic certificate and the professionals at Safety Training Pros will e-mail it to you right away.

2 – Save money! Digital certification cards are less expensive than the wallet card equivalent.

3 – Instead of faxing or mailing copies of your certification card to your employer or anyone requesting proof of your training, just e-mail them your CPR certification card. Its fast and easy!

4 – Be on the cutting edge and go green! Save our valuable natural resources whenever possible.

Digital CPR and AED Certification Card

Once you’ve had a digital certification card, you’ll have a hard time going back to “the way we used to do it.”