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Those in the helping professions are the backbone of our society. Every day, these individuals selflessly protect and support others, whether that’s teaching the next generation or helping those with trauma open up and come to terms with their past. It’s a noble network of occupations which each make the world a better place in their own way.
While there are many different careers that someone can choose from if they want to give back, one thing they all share in common is that they are working with vulnerable members of the public who might be more fragile than the average person. Individuals such as children, the elderly, and the mentally ill need to be protected, and they might be more prone to medical emergencies, which is why it’s so important that everyone who works in a helping profession should become BLS certified.
What is BLS? How does one get certified in these essential measures? Let’s take a deeper look at this type of training.
Basic Life Support training can save a life
Basic Life Support, or BLS, encompasses all the methods to keep a person stable while they await more intensive interventions in an emergency room.
As there are so many different types of emergencies that a person can suffer, BLS certification is extensive, covering a wide array of conditions and how to provide immediate assistance in each of these circumstances. Some of these include how to stop bleeding, how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, how to support someone who is in shock after an accident, and how to intervene if someone has overdosed on opioids.
Those who undergo BLS certification will learn vital skills related to identifying and treating life-threatening emergencies. Should you decide to pursue this training, you will learn how to identify a stroke, seizure, or hypoglycemic episode; how to perform manual breathing and CPR; how to work in teams to stabilize a person; and how to properly care for someone who has overdosed on street drugs.
Do you need BLS certification?
If you work with the public in any capacity, you should absolutely pursue BLS certification, even if your employer does not require it. This is especially true if you work with vulnerable members of the population, such as children and the elderly.
While many who might need BLS certification receive this training as part of their licensing requirements, this might not be true of everyone, even those who might find themselves in an emergency situation while working with a client. For example, a social worker might receive CPR training, but then find themselves in a situation where a client suffers a medical emergency during their session, such as a seizure or stroke. A teacher might have a student who has a hypoglycemic episode or begins choking on a candy, or a daycare worker could have one of their charges fall a great height from playground equipment. These are emergencies where there is no time to wait for medical services: someone needs to jump in right away and provide help.
How can you receive BLS certification
Many employers in the helping profession will provide basic first aid certification as part of the training, but this doesn’t necessarily cover every potential medical emergency, nor is it ongoing. Usually this will be one or two days of training, followed by a test, which isn’t always conducive to memory retention. You might find that you’ve forgotten a lot of what you learned and therefore cannot be of service during a medical emergency, or your employer may not have provided you with BLS training at all.
If your employer has not provided you with BLS certification as part of your training, or you need a refresher, you don’t need to find a class and sign up: you can pursue BLS certification online, at your own time and your own pace. These cost-effective courses cover a wide array of medical emergencies through video tutorials and in-depth explanations, and you can access your learning material any time through both a student manual and on-demand videos. Costing less than $65, this is an incredibly affordable and convenient way to learn these necessary skills to protect your clients.
Final thoughts
Those who have gone into the helping professions are kind, selfless people who want to make the world a better place; to do their very best to assist others, they need to know how to intervene in serious medical emergencies, even if that is not necessarily part of their job description. The best way to understand how to be of even greater service is through BLS certification, which is now easier than ever to attain through online courses. If you love to care for people, seek out BLS certification – you may just save a life.
