Claire | First Aid Instructor in Christchurch

What Do Miniature Houses Have to Do With First Aid Training?

If you’ve taken a course with us at City First Aid in Christchurch recently, you’ve probably met Claire.

Vicky described her best the other day: Claire is a tree. Deeply rooted, calm, completely unflappable, and endlessly generous with what she knows.

From Emergency Medicine to First Aid Instruction

She joined us after retiring from emergency medicine, and that background shows up immediately. When Claire teaches, she doesn't just tell you what to do in any given situation - she explains the why, drawing on real-life experience.

One of my favourite things she tells classes is that providing care in first aid is often "a lot of waiting around." It’s such a simple, grounding reminder that once the immediate action is taken, your real job is to stay, keep watching, reassure, and hold space until help arrives.

Outside the classroom, Claire builds miniature houses, writes songs, and sews fantastical family costumes. Unsurprisingly, that same patience and creativity spill right into her teaching.

When our team needed to memorise a tricky assessment tool recently, Claire didn't give us a lecture - she wrote us a song. It was hilarious, ridiculously effective, and so uniquely Claire.

Whether she's pulling out a story, a piece of old pipe, or a new analogy to help a concept land, she does it with a gentleness that makes people feel safe to ask questions and mess up until they get it right.

What Christchurch Students Say About Learning First Aid with Claire

Our learners capture her impact far better than I can:

"Very precise in explaining each topic. Very patient and encouraging, using life experiences to explain situations."

"Having a medical background behind the teaching made the content more engaging, more relevant, and easier to actually learn from."

"She communicates very well and is very gentle on us, which made our course much easier to understand."

One long-time regular recently said it was simply the best training day they’d had in 10 years of doing first aid.

For us as colleagues, having her wisdom and quiet humour in the room is a gift. For our learners, it means walking away confident, capable, and truly cared for. We’re so glad she chose to park her waka with City First Aid.

Want to learn first aid the way Claire teaches it? If you’re due for a refresher or taking your first course, come join us for a class. You can check our upcoming dates and book your spot at Christchurch first aid course with us today.