First Aid & Basic Life Support (BLS)

Master the basics of first aid, scene safety, handwashing, personal protective gear, first aid kit use, and activating EMS (911) with dispatcher guidance for CPR and basic care.

Identify causes and signs of breathing problems, including asthma and other conditions, and learn inhaler techniques to stabilize breathing and prevent escalation.

Identify triggers such as insect stings, foods, medications, and environmental factors; recognize symptoms from itching and hives to airway swelling; apply epinephrine pen promptly and seek medical care.

Identify heart attack causes and signs and apply first aid with aspirin, call 911, and be prepared to perform CPR to protect heart tissue.

Identify causes and signs of fainting and provide basic life support by ensuring safety, helping the person lie down, elevating legs, and calling 911 if unresponsive.

Learn to recognize signs of low blood sugar in diabetes and provide prompt care with sugar-containing drinks or glucose gels, and call 911 if symptoms worsen.

Identify stroke and its neurological deficits, act quickly as a medical emergency, call 911, help the person sit or lie down, and note symptom onset for CPR readiness.

Identify signs and causes of seizures, such as epilepsy or head injury, and perform first aid: protect, lower to ground, cushion head, call 911, and place person on their side.

Identify shock causes—infection, blood loss, severe allergy, dehydration, or heart problems—and recognize signs like pale or bluish skin, dizziness, or confusion; then call 911 and elevate the person's legs.

Learn to control bleeding by applying direct pressure with dressings while using PPE, prioritize severe wounds, know when to use a tourniquet, and call 911 while watching for shock.

Use gloves when handling teeth and gently handle the tooth. Transport it with the patient to the dentist or medical facility, storing in milk, saline, or under the tongue.

Learn to manage nosebleeds by applying pressure below the bony nose for 5–10 minutes. Use personal protective equipment and avoid tilting the head back; seek care if breathing is affected.

Handle puncture wounds and impaled objects by applying direct pressure, stabilizing with gauze, and transporting for professional evaluation; never remove the object due to risk of bleeding and infection.

Identify common eye injuries from blows, foreign bodies, or scratching and recognize pain, tearing, vision changes, and redness. Practice irrigation for irritants or chemicals, cover both eyes, and seek care.

Identify signs of head and traumatic brain injury, including confusion, headache, nausea and vomiting, memory loss, seizures, loss of balance, and loss of consciousness; stabilize head and neck for transport.

Identify causes and risks of spine injuries, including age 65+ and bicycle or motorcycle crashes; protect the spine, stabilize the head and neck, and call 911.

Learn to provide first aid for sprains and broken bones by ensuring scene safety, applying PPE and gauze, using an ice pack, applying splint as needed, and seeking medical evaluation.

Learn to assess and treat minor and deep burns and electrical injuries, including scene safety, PPE, cooling with water, do not apply ice, dressing, and when to seek emergency care.

Identify signs of bites and stings and apply first aid, including tick removal, wound cleaning, and seeking medical care for venomous bites or severe allergic reactions.

Identify heat cramps, exhaustion, stroke, and sunburns; apply cooling, hydration, and monitoring, and in heat stroke call 911, move to a cooler area, use cold spray and a fan.

Explore causes and symptoms of sunburns, minor or blistering, caused by UV radiation, and learn care steps such as hydration, avoiding sun exposure, aloe vera, and ibuprofen.

Explore frostbite causes, symptoms, and care, including waxy skin and numb extremities, and follow warming steps, remove wet clothing, call 911/EMS, and seek professional care.

Identify signs of hypothermia, including behavior changes, confusion, lethargy, and shivering that may stop; act quickly by warming, drying, covering, and be prepared to perform CPR until help arrives.

Learn to respond to toxin and poison exposure by assessing scene safety, using MSDS and poison control guidance, calling 911, applying PPE, removing the person from exposure, and flushing eyes.

Master the adult and pediatric chains of survival within basic life support. Recognize symptoms, activate EMS, perform high-quality CPR, defibrillate if advised, and follow through with post-cardiac arrest care.

Update your practice with the 2020 ilcor guidelines for adult basic life support, highlighting early bystander cpr, low harm risk, and the added sixth link in the survival chain.

Master life support and cpr for adults: ensure scene safety, call 911, start 30 compressions and 2 breaths at 100–120/min, and manage airway with head tilt or jaw thrust.

Master two-rescuer BLS for adults, scene safety and EMS call, CPR with 30 compressions and 2 breaths, pad application, defibrillate when indicated, and role switching to maintain chest compressions.

Master adult mouth-to-mask ventilation for one-rescuer CPR using a pocket mask; apply four fingers on top, seal, tilt head, lift chin, avoid spine injury, deliver 30 compressions and one-second breaths.

Demonstrate adult bag-mask ventilation within CPR by sealing the mask, lifting the jaw to open the airway, and delivering two one-second breaths after 30 chest compressions.

Learn to use an automated external defibrillator (AED), prepare the patient, apply pads, analyze rhythm, deliver a shock when advised, and resume CPR.

Learn one-rescuer BLS/CPR for children aged one to puberty, perform responsiveness checks, call for help and an AED, and begin 30 compressions and 2 breaths.

Execute two-rescuer BLS/CPR for children aged 1 to puberty, starting with responsiveness check, calling 911, and delivering 15 compressions and 2 breaths per cycle with AED prompts until help arrives.

Select the correct size bag mask for child ventilation and seal. Seal with head tilt chin lift, IC clamp forming E and C, deliver one-second breaths that raise the chest.