--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE BEAT The e-zine for health, safety, and EMS instructors and coordinators --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 2 Issue 18 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are currently 861 instructors and coordinators subscribed to "The Beat". We'd like to have more! Let your training center know about our new website - http://www.cprinstructor.com In this issue: * Test Stress - by John Mateus * Important Changes to "The Beat" * Help Wanted * Did you know? * Your Tips - Advice from readers of "The Beat" * The Dangers of Watching Football by Kevin Wanstall * The Redhead's Resource Report - by Faith Harper -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Test Stress by John Mateus I was not a great student as a kid. In most subjects I was uninterested, I was often not attentive, and I abhorred tests. I rarely felt comfortable with the material when the test paper was in front of me. My performance in most courses was lackluster. When I started training others, my goal was to eliminate that feeling in the students in my courses. While many of the programs I teach have pass/fail criteria, I do my best not to let the pressure of the exam affect the way my attendees performance in the class. There are many ways instructors can minimize a student's anxiety and lack of comfort in a course: @ Present objectives immediately - Tell students what to expect in the course as soon as it starts. Tell them what you expect from them as a performance standard, and let them know if they will have a written or performance exam. Students who know that you will test them may want to take notes, ask questions, or simply pay more attention. @ Cover all appropriate material - While you don't want to 'teach the test', meaning that you base your presentation more around the exam than the actual subject. You must however cover the test material adequately enough for the students to perform well. Course preparation should include previewing the test for a program that he/she teaches infrequently. While quizzing students on material they were supposed to have read is common in longer programs (EMT-Basic) and college courses, but it rarely works well in short training (one or two sessions) or retraining sessions. Expecting students to answer questions on material the instructor didn't cover is unfair to the participants and will quickly cause them to resent the teacher. @ Emphasize the facts - Give additional attention to the pieces of information that you know the students will be required to know. This might involve repeating the information during a lecture recap or, even better, asking for key data back from students as a review of a section. After teaching the vital signs section to a group of EMT-Basic students, for example, an instructor could ask the group what the average blood pressure, pulse rate, and breathing rate is for a number of different age groups. The verbal responses would reinforce the knowledge for all students without singling out any one particular participant. Offer the opportunity to ask questions - Invite questions from the group so that those who have doubts can get answers to their queries. Instructors can also ask groups how comfortable they are with certain key topics that they will need to know for their examination, without necessarily giving away any one particular question. A good example of this in a CPR class would involve asking students "You'll need to know compression/ventilation ratios - is everyone comfortable with those for all three age groups?" @ Analyze previous patterns - Be sure to cover questions on a test that have been a problem in previous courses. Not every question is very well written, and others are just worded in tricky ways. Your close attention to this material will better prepare your students to deal with these portions as they come up. Tests and quizzes should be come challenge and an honest evaluation of the students capabilities, but they do not have to be impossible tasks or unfair burdens. Your attention to their performance will result in both more pleasant classes and students that leave your course more comfortable with the skills you taught them. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- C. P. Arrgghhh! Cartoon Link: http://www.cprinstructor.com/thebeat/celebman.jpg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Economy Saniman $69.95 at the Less Stress Instructional Services store -under "Simulaids Manikins" http://www.LessStress.com/store/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please visit our sponsor The Pre-Hospital Care Simulator: http://www.LessStress.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help Wanted: This newsletter is not free - it's price is that you pass on a good hint or tip about EMS, health, or safety training to the subscribers on the list. E-mail your stuff to jmateus@lessstress.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Did you know? The LessStress.com instructor shop now carries cool training supplies like Epi-Pen trainers and Simulaids manikins - have a look at http://www.LessStress.com/store/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your Tips - Advice from readers of "The Beat" This section features some of the submissions by readers of the newsletter. We'd love to see more of it - send you best stuff to jmateus@lessstress.com "We try to put T-Shirts on all of our more expensive manikins. It's more realistic to have to tear off a T-Shirt before doing chest compressions, and it really protects the manikins from becoming dirty. Most manikins will fit into a small or medium size shirt. Dark blue seems to be a good color for building up a minimum of dirt on the shirt." Robert Williams CPR instructor -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Need books for your EMT-Basic or Paramedic class? Try the discount book store at http://www.emsbooks.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Dangers of Watching Football" by Kevin Wanstall Watching a game of Football wouldn't usually be considered a Hazardous activity, however, between January 1990 and March 2000, simply attending a game of football at the MCG, proved to be a fatal activity for 36 people.During the March - August period this year, another 3 people have been added to this list. Most members, will by now, have a general understanding of the defibrillation process and the chain of survival, so in this piece, I'll only discuss the outcomes and the Emergency Response protocols that are in place at the MCG. The Emergency response protocols used at the MCG and the ANZAC day march, work as follows: The strategy involves a two, or three tiered, process. The first tier consists of first aider foot patrols equipped with basic life support equipment (Mask, Gloves & sometimes Oxygen). The second tier consists of strategically placed two person teams, consisting of Advanced First Aid members, trained in advanced resuscitation skills, Professional Ambulance Paramedic, or registered Nurse, who are trained in rapid response defibrillation. At major events, there is usually, a third tier, which consists of two medical teams capable of providing advanced life support. More recently, an emergency response dispatch grid has also been added. This grid establishes a standard response protocol to all calls for assistance. Amongst other things, it requires, that an SAED team also be dispatched to any calls to an unconscious / altered conscious state patient or a patient in respiratory distress, as well as the primary foot patrol / response team. In 1999, St John Ambulance (Vic) conducted what is believed to be the largest reported cardiac arrest study of a major public venue, the MCG. This is a summary of the results of that study. The statistics contained in this summary are for the period, Jan 1990 to March 2000, but includes four arrests that occurred at the ANZAC day march.The reason for including ANZAC march into the equation, is that the same emergency response protocols are applied to both events. * During the survey period, the incidence of cardiac arrests at the MCG was 1:300,000 attendance's. * During the survey period, 40 patients suffered a cardiac arrest. * Of the 40 patients that arrested, 35 (87.5%) left the venue alive and 28 (70%) were discharged to home. * The patients, ages ranged from 23 - 91 years. * CPR was performed on 38 (97.5%) of the patients within two minutes of the reported time of collapse (The two cases where CPR was delayed were due to the collapse taking place in the car park outside the ground). * Direct Current Countershock (DCCS, more commonly known as Defibrillation) was provided using either a Manual or Semi-automatic unit. * The 35 (87.5%) patients who received Defibrillation did so within 5 minutes of the documented time of collapse. * Two patients in monitored Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) reverted spontaneously during CPR and one patient reverted after receiving a pre-cordial thump (monitored) * Of the 12 deaths, five died at the scene. The Cardiac survival rate at the MCG is rated the best in the world (World best practice gives a 30% survival rate). While skill is obviously important, there is no reason to believe, that apart from minor protocol differences, the skill level of the Emergency Response teams at the MCG, is significantly better than those in other parts of the world. The main difference lies in the effective application of the well established Chain of Survival principals; 1. Early recognition, (the cardiac arrest is usually witnessed by Police, Security, Friends or Members of the public and help called for quickly) 2. Early CPR, (From the Foot Patrol members, Police, Security, within 2 min) 3. Early defibrillation, (From the SAED team members, within 5 min) 4. Early ACLS, (From the medical teams in attendance, and/or Ambulance and Mica support usually within 10 - 15 min) If ever there was a good demonstration as to how well the chain of survival works in practice, it has to be the 87.5% / 70% Survival rate of Cardiac arrest patients at the "G". SAED training is now being offered to the all Adult members and very soon, is expected to be offered to any Cadets over the age of 14 as well (with parental permission). This training, combined with the maintaining of a high level of competency in basic life support skills, should go a long way to significantly improving the survival rate of cardiac arrest patients at all events. Kevin Wanstall -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Redhead's Resource Report Online and Real World Training Resources - by Faith Harper Holiday Healthy and Honey vs. Neosporin Well, spank my bottom and call me a politician....because I lied. Actually, my intentions were quite good. This installation of the resource report was planned to be the continuation of CPR training resources. Alas, alack, I cannot currently access my folder of links to all the web sites I wanted to share with y'all (or is that all y'all?). I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of the AOL technical support desk (snicker, snort) and hopefully I will be able to spin part two out to you by the next issue of The Beat. As for this installment... (insert tap dance here). Well the holiday season must be upon us. The stores are full of Christmas decorations (ok, they have been there since July) and visions of Barbie convertibles dance in my daughter's head. But how does that affect our jobs as instructors and training coordinators (besides the fact that business now gets very slow)? I have been very successful with my courses by adding a little seasonal mix to my instruction. During the weeks before Halloween, we discuss trick or treating choking hazards for toddlers, and during the holiday season we add extra advice to our PBLS classes about the dangers of seasonal plants and decorations. Poinsettia's are common decorations everywhere, and mistletoe, with its highly poisonous berries, is also popular, especially at holiday parties (how else is Mateus going to get lucky?) Another question that AHA instructors especially are faced with is eating healthy during the holidays. Diabetics especially have a difficult time maintaining their goal blood sugar levels during the season of chocolate and candy canes. So I thought I would share with y'all some healthy, and quite good tasting diabetic friendly dessert recipes. I have tried these both out myself and they have pleased the pickiest of diabetics....my mom. If you think your classes would be interested, copy these and hand them out in your classes the next few weeks. If anyone has any recipes in the same vein that they would like to share, please send them to me and I will include them in the next issue of The Beat. Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie 1 pie crust 1 cup pumpkin 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1 egg 1 cup milk 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 6 single serving packages of sugar substitute (Equal, Sweet & Low, etc.) Prepare piecrust as directed. Beat eggs, sugar substitute and spices until fluffy. Add milk and pumpkin. Mix well. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Diabetic-Friendly Pound Cake 2 c. regular flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. corn oil 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar substitute 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups of chopped nuts 1 tsp. vanilla 4 tablespoons buttermilk 1 cup of raisins 3 large bananas mashed Sift flour, soda and sugar substitute and mix until light. Add all other ingredients and beat well with mixer. Pour into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2x 2 1/2 greased and floured loaf pan. Bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Yields 12-14 slices. Speaking of edibles.....here is an interesting note for First Aid instructors. A recent article published by Nursing Times, honey helped heal infections in patients that did not respond to conventional treatments. Dr Peter Molan, the director of the Honey Research Center at New Zealand's Waikato University, honey seals off the wounds so bacteria can't enter, and it has antiseptic, anti-inflammatory properties to boot! Maybe some of these home remedies aren't so crazy after all! As always, give me a holler at CPRinSA@aol.com for questions, comments, idea, contributions, Christmas presents (don't forget, I look great in green velvet). Faith Harper -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This newsletter is never sent unsolicited - it is an opt-in mailing from Less Stress Instructional Services, your health and safety training agency. 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