How to Keep Your First Aid Skills Sharp As a Caregiver

Washington state might not require home care aides (HCA-Cs) to get full first aid training, but that doesn’t make it any less essential. As a caregiver, you could one day be in an emergency where you are your client’s only hope for quick and effective first aid skills.

Training and practice give you the confidence to provide basic first aid in any situation, as well as a potential certification that employers appreciate. Here’s how you can learn and maintain your first aid skills in Western Washington.

First Aid Courses For Caregivers in Western Washington

For Individuals

Sunrise Services offers a first aid, CPR, and AED course in Everett, WA. This is a hybrid course, meaning it combines self-paced online learning with in-person skills practice and testing. It covers first aid for adults, infants, and children and meets job requirements for all long-term care settings, including Developmentally Disabled Programs.

After completing this course and passing the test, you will receive a CPR/First Aid/AED certification through the American Health & Safety Institute (ASHI). Your certificate will be valid for two years.

At this time, Washington state does not require this course for HCA credentialing. However, this is a great course to take if you’re planning to pursue a career in nursing. It meets the requirements for the Sunrise 5-day NAC/CNA Bridge Program credentialing process.

For Groups

If you would like to complete first aid training with your coworkers, Sunrise Services can come to your facility and put on the class for a group of eight or more students. The course will cover first aid, CPR, and AED skills for all ages.

Please contact our caregiver training center if you are interested in scheduling a group first aid training session.

The Most Important First Aid Skills For Caregivers

Situation Assessment

One of the most important first aid skills is assessing emergency situations. You need to know whether to call for professional medical help and what you can do immediately to help the person. Generally speaking, you should call an ambulance if your client is unconscious or unresponsive, bleeding severely, has a potentially broken bone, appears to have a spinal or neck injury, is experiencing chest pain or difficulty breathing, or is having a seizure.

Assistance With Bleeding

Severe bleeding requires immediate action in addition to calling for medical help. If your client starts bleeding, you should apply pressure to the wound and (if possible) elevate the affected limb to help slow down the bleeding.

Assistance With Burns

Anyone can be burned by heat, chemicals, radiation, or even just electricity. Different levels of burns need different treatments, but in many cases, it helps to cool the burned area, cover it with a sterile dressing, and call for medical help. A first aid course can teach you how to recognize the severity of a burn and treat it appropriately.

Assistance With Broken Bones

Broken bones or fractures require immediate attention. If you think your client may have broken a bone, you should immobilize the affected limb and call for medical help.

CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a technique you can use to save someone’s life right after their heart has stopped beating. It includes calling for help, checking for responsiveness and breathing, repeatedly compressing the person’s chest to try to restart the heart, and giving rescue breaths so that oxygen continues flowing to vital organs.

The Heimlich Maneuver

If your client starts choking and their airway becomes blocked, you will need to dislodge the obstruction. The Heimlich maneuver is a technique you can use to restore their breathing.

Keeping a Well-Stocked First Aid Kit

Everyone should have a first aid kit on hand in their home, including your caregiving clients. You never know when you might need to use it. A basic kit should include:

• Adhesive bandages in various sizes
• Sterile gauze pads
• Medical tape
• Instant cold packs
• Antiseptic solution or wipes
• Disposable gloves
• Tweezers
• Scissors
• A thermometer
• Pain-relieving medication
• Any prescription medications your client may need to take urgently, such as insulin

You should also keep emergency phone numbers and a list of your clients’ medical conditions and medications on hand.

Start Building Your First Aid Skills

Sunrise Services offers a wide variety of training and continuing education courses for caregivers, including first aid training, a bridge program to help you meet the requirements for NAC/CNA credentials, and an annual course packet that meets HCA-C CE requirements.

Explore our course catalog to learn more about our continuing education opportunities for caregivers.