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What Goes Into a First Aid Course? A Behind-the-Scenes Look at City First Aid
You see us arrive wrestling 18 manikins, suitcases of AEDs and first aid kits, and enough paperwork to sink a battleship!. What you don't see is everything that happens before and after. For every hour you spend learning with us, there are many more hours of work behind the scenes, covering the resources in your hands, the manikins on the floor, the standards behind your certificate, the ongoing training of the people teaching you, and the care that goes into making the room
City First Aid
1 day ago3 min read
First Aid Basics Christchurch | Customised First Aid Training
Not everyone needs a first aid certificate. Sometimes, you just need to know what to do. That is where our First Aid Basics course fits. For people attending one of our public courses in either Christchurch, Rangiora, Hanmer or Kaikōura, First Aid Basics covers the same core first aid information as our Foundation First Aid course. But without the assessments required for a national qualification. You still learn all the practical stuff. CPR. Choking. Bleeding. Medical emerge
City First Aid
Sep 213 min read
NZQA Levels and Credits: What Do Those Numbers Actually Mean?
Following on from last week’s blog about the changes coming to first aid standards, this week I’m getting a little more under the hood. The course names are staying the same, the minimum training hours are staying the same, but some of the NZQA numbers are changing. And, as with most things involving qualifications frameworks, the numbers sound more mysterious than they really are. So here’s what NZQA levels and credits actually mean, and what the changes do, and do not, tell
City First Aid
Sep 144 min read
When you run because you hear your kid scream.
Truth is, I’m one of those annoying people who stops to check on people in the street. I asked the woman curled up in child’s pose on the beach if she was okay. I stopped to check on the man sleeping in a doorway. I saw a man leaning against a tree as I drove past and thought something looked a bit off. I pulled over suddenly just as he collapsed to the ground. I notice stuff that's a bit odd. I’m not afraid to step in, and I know I can help or get help if needed. And it anno
City First Aid
Sep 123 min read
New First Aid Standards in New Zealand: What’s Changing for Learners?
“Every time I come to first aid, it’s different.” We hear some version of that in almost every class, whether we’re teaching here in Christchurch, at the RSA in Rangiora, or up in Hanmer or Kaikōura - and you’re not entirely wrong. First aid advice changes as new evidence emerges, and now the NZQA standards behind first aid training are changing too. The familiar unit standards 6400, 6401 and 6402 are being replaced by three new skill standards: 41053: Administer basic life s
City First Aid
Sep 73 min read
Why First Aid Training Matters: A Real-Life Christchurch Story?
My husband was hit by a car during Waitangi weekend, 2021. While Brian was on his scooter, a lightweight 50cc moped type. Great for running around the city. Maybe not to travel from Auckland to Invercargill for a pie, but that's another story! Brian was riding along the Heathcote River in Christchurch on a beautiful, sunny afternoon. A car wanted to turn right. They didn't have the right of way, but continued to take the turn, which took Brian out. The car slammed into him, a
City First Aid
Aug 313 min read
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