First aid 101: Expert advice from a Nurse and Paramedic [interview]

In any emergency, knowing basic first aid can make all the difference. To help you feel more prepared, we sat down with nurse Sarah and paramedic Marty from Embrace First Aid to discuss essential first aid skills everyone should know. Their combined expertise offers practical advice that could one day save a life, so let's jump into it!

#1. As a professional nurse and paramedic still active in the field, what are the most kind of common injuries that you see in a workplace setting?

Sarah (nurse): 

I suppose for us, most of our injuries that we see just as a registered nurse working in the emergency department and as a triage nurse, we see multiple different things like amputations, partial amputations, dislocations, fractures, wounds, lacerations from large to small. 

Marty (paramedic):
Usually lacerations and those sorts of things, especially builders and workers out there in the environment, they'll just take themselves to hospital and that won't really bother us that much. Whereas the falls for us off scaffolding or ladders, they're sort of the ones that call us. Injuries from machines or machine equipment, such as amputations or machine failures, electrocutions, aren't that common but it certainly happens.

I'd say number one would be in the workplace would be falls, from scaffolding or from roofs, especially with ladders and things like that. Trade work and the building industry seems to have the highest incidents, whereas office workers we mostly see chest pain, stress, strokes and things like that.

#2. So what do you think the key basic steps would be in first aid that could be used across kind of a multitude of different first aid emergencies?

Sarah (nurse): 
I think the key points for first aid and easy for people to remember is the DRSABCD, because that's the action plan and that really covers majority of things. 

Danger, your response, calling for help. So making sure you remember that your checking the airway, making sure are they breathing or are they not breathing? If they're not breathing, we start CPR and then if we can get a defib or if there's a defib close, then we can. And so to me, that's really what first aid is about is, is saving lives.

Marty (paramedic):
With first aid a lot of times what I'll say and teach is what you see, let it be - except for bleeding. Don't get tunnel vision. 

So whatever I see, for example; if I can see an ankle that's fractured and facing the wrong way, well at the end of the day, as long as it's not bleeding, my first aid response is to now deal with everything else first - Why they fell, how did it happen, did you hit any other part of your body? Because I can see the obvious, I need to deal with everything else.

I feel that's a fundamental in what we teach as far as to give them the confidence to not just look at that ankle and think, 'Oh, the fracture of the ankle' and go into the ankle just without any questioning. So what you see now, let it be except for bleeding.

We've created a DRSABCD poster for you to download here! Keep one in your wallet, your bag, or on the fridge! You never know where or when you might need it.

#3. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are the three things from a first aid kit that you would want to bring with you?

Sarah (nurse): 
The three things that I would want would be a triangular bandage just because it's got multiple uses for it. You can use like tourniquet for any bites or stings or if something's bleeding. It's also good for head wounds or for strapping legs like if you're putting both legs together for a femur fracture. And also compound fractures because you make your doughnut out of them. 

Another is a shock blanket because again, it's got multiple uses. If you've got a shattered pelvis, you can pull it together with a shock blanket. It's also good to keep you warm. In terms of being on an island, you can make out like a little tent from it and you could use it to attract planes and attention. That's the key thing of first aid, is to survive.

And lastly a compression bandage because of the possibility of snakes, and you're surrounded by ocean so you've got stings that often require compression bandages.

Marty (paramedic):

As Sarah has said, a compression bandage for any creatures that may be venomous, a space blanket to keep me warm and could also use it as an SOS signal, and triangular bandage because I could use it as a sling, a bandage, and a bandana to keep hair out of my eyes because nobody has rescued me for a while and my hair is now very long!

#4. Is there anything else that you think is important for the average person to know about the essentials of first aid?

Marty (paramedic):
Other then DRSABCD, just relax, don't panic and understand that while you go to render assistance, whatever has happened probably wasn't your fault anyway. Whatever's happened has already happened and you're just now trying to alleviate any pain or symptoms or signs of bleeding. 

A big thank you to Sarah and Marty at Embrace First Aid for taking the time to chat with us and share their invaluable knowledge. As active professionals in the field, their insights into first aid basics are grounded in real-world experience and we're grateful for the opportunity to bring their expertise to you, helping everyone feel more confident and prepared in an emergency.

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