I recently updated my CPR certificate. Surprisingly it was a class of 10 people in a large room. I still felt safe enough. I would say it was a pretty good class and I probably learned more than I have in previous classes. The instructor insisted on Hands-On instruction and engaging in conversation, rather than just going by the book and page numbers etc.
Since I did the course during the recent lockdown, we had to place the plastic dummies that we practice on, both the adult and the infant, into clear plastic bags. This is despite the fact that each of them were washed down and sanitized anyways.
What was pretty funny is that the instructor at the beginning of the class said to us, " by the way just letting you know, we don't actually put people in plastic bags when we're doing CPR on them!" Lol "you would think that's a given, but I actually had a student ask me for extra plastic bags at the end of one class. And when I asked him why, he said to put the people we are saving and doing CPR into."
It was a very engaging class to say the least. Remember everyone: 30 compressions, two breaths!! The instructor has been a paramedic for about 13 years. One of the main messages he kept saying is that tv is filled with lies. He was explaining all these common emergency scenarios we see on tv, and he was frustrated with how inaccurate and incorrect they were (and what it maybe teaching the average person).
At the end of the class the instructor said something very interesting. He asked us why we learn CPR. The number one leading cause of death in the country is a heart attack / cardiac arrest/ because of cardiovascular disease. Don't quote me but I think he said it's around 30% of total deaths a year. The next highest or same level is cancer. And the next are other diseases, accidents, then suicides ... etc etc. He also said nearly last on that top 20 list is due to violence like gunshot wounds or stabbings.
He then went on to ask us ... But which is it that we hear on the news every day???
Very true. I have a few patients that have told me how downtown is unsafe and that there are lots of "crazies" out there and so many killings..... Sometimes I wish I could just accompany them out of their house to visit downtown and just enjoy the day. But somehow I think, even if that happened they would still be walking around in fear of what's around the corner, despite what their own eyes would have shown them. Instead I just try to tell them they don't need to watch the news all day... Do something they enjoy....
Then of course, there's always a "yea but....."
Fear is a great motivator, the great influencer... But I've heard love and hope are stronger.