Ever taken a CPR/First Aid training class?
 

I've been thinking this would be a good idea for many reasons, but particularly because my girlfriend and I both ride. I don't want to be the dipshit with my hands in my pockets watching somebody die before the ambulance gets there.

Curious if any others on here have taken such a course. I really haven't a clue where to look besides google.

Is there certified organizations that do this type of thing, or do you have any recommendations?

I was a lifeguard for 3 years and we had to get recertified every year for first aid and cpr. it was done through the local red cross. they hosted classes. I would contact them. and yeah its nice to know that if you were put in that situation, you wouldn't be completely useless.

Looks like there's two basic ones, American Heart Association and Red Cross. Red Cross class appears to have courses more focused on trauma/first aid.

I have never taken a bike specific first aid class. Work requires that we go through first aid/CPR each year. The instructor is certified through the red cross.

I would rather know it and not have to use it than not know the alternitive.

It's a great idea and everyone should do it. I took it last year before I took the EMT class in the community college near me. Now I'm in the fire academy and I had to do it again as part of the class. There are certified people who teach the classes. You'd need to look it up near you I guess. The lady who taught mine last year did it out of her house.

As a fellow firefighter/EMT-B with CaptainChaos I am an instructor in both Heartsaver and BLS CPR and First Aid through American Heart Association. Whether you take a class through AHA or RC it is a good idea to learn the skill(s) because you never know when you will be faced with an emergency and you can make the difference in that persons life.

It is truly amazing that you can save an individuals life with nothing more than your breath and pushing on someones chest.

Some of the things that you will learn taking the course is:

CPR ( adult, child and possibly infant)
Use of an AED (automatic external defibrillator)
Choking (adult, child and infant)

Another thing, CPR is a depreciable skill set, so practice often.

I am off my soap box now.
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It's a great idea. When I took over my karate school I got the red cross to come in so I could get all the staff as well as some of the adult students and parents of students. You not only learn life saving skills but also laws regarding what you are allowed to do without getting sued such as good samaritan laws, etc. I used to be an EMT and beach lifeguard in San Diego and have been through classes here in Az every year for the last 15 years.
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I am a paramedic here in Canada and work for a lifeflight service. The CPR skills you will learn are definately valuable and absolutely can mean the difference between life and death in certain situations. Not only is it great to have those skills incase you come accross someone but you will also be able to help your loved ones in time of need.

Wow...look at all of you who are CPR certified, My employer has us take a First-Aid/CPR/AED class once every 2 years. We have our fire fighters come and teach it. But I also know that they do it as a public service twice a year for the community.

I to am a Firefighter/EMT-B, and a BLS Instructor.

Did CPR annually in the AF, and now that I'm in the Army I've added the Combat Lifesaver training to my skillset. Not that I carry fluids and IV line around in the tankbag, but the training on how to stop profuse bleeding would come in handy. Here's hoping I never have to use it...

You should see if your work will set it up. Mine contacts the Red Cross once a year and someone from there shows up at our work. It's pretty convenient because he just shows up when we are done working, so we don't even have to drive to a different location, just hang out at work for an extra couple of hours.

I'll find the info again, one of my Supervisors showed me info on a "Motorcycle First Responder Course" that he'd taken at his Firehouse. CPR/First Aid are good to have, this went into when to remove the helmet, how to correctly remove the helmet and other motorcycle specific First Aid stuff.

Both the AHA and RC are more than happy to hold and teach classes at a persons work. The charge to teach a class is usually $25 - $40 depending if the book is included. The civilian courses, either First Aid or CPR runs 4 hours, BLS certification, law enforcement, emergency responders, is an 8 hour class.

You could also check with your local fire house and see if they have an instructor to teach your class as well.

Oooh, you've got my interest. This seems like a type of specialty course that would be very valuable for first responders, and hopefully available to anyone. Although we have many squids out there keeping the emergency crews well rehearsed for the time you might be the one.

Yeah after seeing the Motorcycle First Responder Course, I would go seek out a course like that, I'm an RN and we do AHA CPR courses, but that just teachers AED and adult/infant CPR. These may help out somewhere along the line, but I would suggest the motorcycle specific course first. If that doesn't work, then call your area hospital and they have times and dates for CPR, because they offer it %99 of the time , and it's around $30.

I just got certified as an EMT-B in san diego. There are EMT classes at Miramar college that you can take with Mary Kjartanson (awesome teacher), the only pre-req is a Basic Life Support for Health Care Providers (http://www.getstarcpr.com/home.html). IIRC the BLS classes only teach you CPR - It's not motorcycle specific. The EMT class teaches you alot & it's a great skill to have. I'm actually taking my advanced cardiac life support class this weekend.

Shoot me a PM if you have questions! i'm local to you so you should be able to take the same classes I did for certification.

I didn't forget, he's finding the info for me. I'll post it as soon as I have it.

Ok, here's the info I promised. If you are not an EMT or higher (or don't want to be an instructor), the 100 Basic Course is what you want.

http://accidentscene.org/index.html