First Aid Training for Pilots and Flight Attendants

When you’re on a flight, there are no nearby doctors or hospitals who can treat you if you hurt yourself - the only help available to you comes from supporting staff members and flight attendants. Luckily, flight attendants are required to receive training in first aid and carry medical kits on board so that they can provide any assistance in the event of an injury. There aren’t too many risks of injury to face if you’re buckled up and following the rules - but still, it’s always comforting to know that help is available if you need it. For example, if you’re experiencing severe nausea or vomiting, your flight attendant will also be able to provide assistance in the form of first aid training - if you’d like to know more about this, read the article.

First Aid Training for Flying

When you get on a plane, you’re essentially removing yourself from the everyday world and submitting yourself to the sky. As a passenger, this means that you’re essentially at the hands of the flight attendants and the pilot. Although many of us don’t think about these kinds of things when boarding planes, staff who are involved in aviation have to be rigorously trained to manage any and all emergency situations. From serving you water and sandwiches to stowing your luggage carefully, to citing safety rules and evacuation procedures, there are so many things that aviation staff have to be prepared for in order to keep you safe from harm during your travels.

All flights carry basic first-aid kits, enhanced first aid kits and an automatic defibrillator, as well as supplemental oxygen. Providing this kind of medical equipment is a legal obligation that ensures that all flights are safe for passengers and prepared for anything. Most airlines will enrol their flight attendants into training institutions such as EMCARE in order to guarantee that they are qualified and equipped to handle this equipment when treating common injuries. This is a great way to prevent issues, and it also helps to keep passengers calm.

Why Is It Important to Know First Aid Training?

First Aid is not only valuable to know for your personal health as an individual, but it is also helpful in many professional contexts. Whether you’re a lifeguard, firefighter, teacher, tour guide, scuba instructor, or manager, you’ll likely receive an induction course and guide on how to administer first aid in an emergency. Having a first aid certification means that should danger or disaster break out, you have the means and knowledge to handle the situation with care and proficiency. Although it may seem like a preemptive chore at first, you’ll soon realise that prevention is better than cure, and it is better to be prepared for the worst.

Unfortunately, the reality of our human lives is that our bodies are fragile and susceptible to many different kinds of injuries, illnesses and emergencies that can be life-threatening if they are not handled carefully. In these situations, even a basic knowledge of first aid can be useful and helpful to the victim, who will likely require your help in order to stabilise them. If you’ve ever witnessed a bad accident happen near you, whether it was at work or home, then you probably remember that sense of helplessness that overtakes you when you want to be of assistance but you don't know how. These moments can be incredibly stressful, especially if the emergency involves one of your precious family members, friends or loved ones.

If you resent this feeling, and you want to arm yourself with the knowledge necessary to help, then having first aid accreditations is the best possible way to do that. But if you’re going to learn first aid so that you can help out in any situation, then it is important to make sure that you’re efficiently trained by professionals who work with a well-established training institution, such as EMCARE, because otherwise, you could end up doing more harm than good. For example, something as simple as tying a tourniquet too tight could cut off blood flow and cause blood clots, infection or worse. Learning first aid through an established institution can help to prevent these kinds of mistakes and keep victims safe.

Overall there are three key reasons to invest in first aid training: first, it is a lifesaving skill that can literally prevent death or permanent handicaps from harming people. Second, having first aid knowledge is an experiential advantage that looks good on a curriculum vitae, and hence makes you more employable for certain jobs, such as lifeguarding or working as a flight attendant - this is because these dangerous or high-risk environments require basic first aid knowledge since employees are the frontline against emergencies. Third, first aid can keep you from personally being harmed in dangerous situations, which ultimately protects you and prevents you from having to deal with costly accidents that take time and money to manage.

What Sort of Injuries Does One Learn to Handle in First Aid Training?

Participating in First Aid Training offers you the wherewithal to handle a variety of medical emergencies. Sometimes first aid training will be enough to manage a situation, but other times it will just be a preventative measure that will stabilise the patient until paramedics can be reached. Depending on the severity of the situation, some of these emergencies will require further medical attention from professional medical doctors - but if you’re far away from any medical services then first aid training will show you how to be resourceful with what you have.

Common Injuries:

• Concussion
• Stopped heart / Cardiac arrest
• Bleeding caused by puncture wounds
• Choking
• First, second and third-degree burns
• Blisters
• Fractures and broken bones
• Soft tissue injuries
• Sprains and strains
• Nosebleeds
• Frostbite
• Heatstroke
• Bee stings
• Rashes

Invest in First Aid Training from EMCARE Today

If you or your organisation, airline or company are working in dangerous conditions that required regulated first aid training, then consider enrolling your employees into one of EMCARE’s courses. EMCARE has six branches in South Africa, over one hundred accredited courses, and 23 years of experience in training people for first aid, emergency medical services, firefighting and occupational health and safety courses. If you’d like to learn more, simply get in touch and organise your enrolment with one of our trusted staff members.