Class 4

5/7/12

Today's class was very laid back and knowledge-filled. We started off with our usual "oh-so-exciting" videos, which featured the lovely AED. I don't know what it is with lifeguarding and all these abbreviations, but like CPR from the other the AED is also a breeze! (or a shock! ha ha) For those of you who didn't know prior to reading this blog, an AED system stands for Automated External Defibrillator. Much like the machines shown on medical drama TV shows, and AED contains two paddles used to shock a victim's heart back to life. Unlike TV, however, an AED can't be charged multiple times and shocked at different frequencies. It's probably the most dangerous equipment we have dealt with thus far in my class. Once you learn what it is, it's pretty easy to figure how to use it, (especially when it verbally gives you directions) but here are a few tips from me.

1. Dry off the victim with a towel or other cloth. Water is a good conductor of electricity and any damp spots left on the victim's chest could potentially hurt them.
2. "Size up" your victim, so to speak. If they look big enough to stick both of the pads on the chest and side, proceed with normal protocol. If it looks like you won't be able to place them in the normal spots without them touching, place one on the front of the chest and one on the back. 
3. Check for body jewelry/piercings. If nipple rings interfere with the placement of the pads, DO NOT TAKE THEM OUT. It seems like the most common sense thing to do, but you may further injure the victim. Just place the pads around them.
4. If other lifeguards are helping you, make sure to shout "Clear!" while the AED is analyzing the heart rate and while it is delivering shock. Check to make sure no one is touching the victim during either of these times.
5. After the AED has done it's job and there is a pulse, continue on to CPR or ventilation.

That's mainly what I gathered from the AED lecture and we got to watch the instructors go through all the steps with a teacher's version of the AED that doesn't deliver a real shock. Next, we moved on to reviewing our CPR skills and we got time to practice whatever skills we wanted to on the dummies. I felt pretty confident about my CPR abilities, so I volunteered to go first when we started CPR checkoffs. This wasn't the final test for CPR, just a model for us to see how the real test would go and for the instructors to make sure we had been listening.

I was happy because I got to do mine with my favorite instructor (a young lady named Raquel). I ran through everything she told me to do and did really well. CPR is one part of the final test I'm not worried about. After check offs we got more time to practice CPR and then it was time to go.

CPR Pictures!

Class 3

5/4/12

Today was my third lifeguarding class. I'm just starting to get used to the routine of coming home and scarfing down dinner and driving straight to lifeguard class for an evening full of fun! I actually do enjoy it and it's nice to take a class that isn't purely academic every now and then. On the other hand, it is up to me to make sure I pass this class and the responsibility is starting to weigh down my shoulders a little bit. But enough rambling, class is starting!

I came in today, not really knowing what to expect because I was absent last class and I was a little nervous to be informed that we had done "tons of stuff" (in Imani's words) while I was away. I still at this point, felt confident in my ability to catch up on my missed skills.

At the beginning of class, we sat around like we normally did watching videos and listening to lectures from the book. The big new skill they were introducing today was CPR. I don't really know how I expected CPR to be, but it was actually probably my strongest skill I had learned so far. It's basically just memorizing certain things you do at certain times and it just seemed to click with me right away. Before I get into all the specifics I just want to show one of the more exciting parts of the class:

                                                               getting this little guy!

And it's all mine! Forever! Well, until I have to save somebody. But still, exciting! Anyways, inside, it contains 1 breathing barrier protective mask (which is fancy talk for a plastic mask that has a one way air flow), 1 pair of gloves, 1 alcohol wipe (for cleaning), and 1 set of directions. Fun, right? Any and every lifeguard is supposed to own one of these and have them close by at all times when they're on duty.

So after we all got our pocket masks, we proceeded to learn how to use them. It's pretty easy, actually. You just place the mask over the victims' mouth and nose (with the pointy side up) and make sure you have a firm seal. Then, place your mouth on the valve and give two initial breaths. If used correctly, the breaths should make the victim's chest clearly rise and fall.

Pretty much all you need to know everything about CPR and other breathing emergencies, is on this handy dandy chart.

We practiced choking, rescue breathing and CPR for about an hour on all types of mannequins. We had to master all the skills on adults, children, and infants. For children and infants there are only a few major differences. First of all the mask placement on an infant is different if you don't have a specific infant mask. You can make the standard adult mask work on an infant by simply flipping it inside out so that the pointy side is facing down. This provides a better seal on a smaller face. Also for both a child or infant, a lifeguard must obtain parent consent before assisting them in any way. There are also some differences as far as breathing ratios go.

 At the end of class we got in the pool and practiced mostly just the passive submerged victim rescue. Like I mentioned before, this was the really challenging skill that I missed during the past class and I was having a really hard time with it. However, one of the instructors went over it lots of times with me and even though I felt like I was going to pass out after all that lifesaving, I think I finally wrapped my mind around the idea and theory of it. 

Til next time, faithful readers!

Class 2

5/3/12

Today would have been the second class I attended, but I had to miss this class to go to a really important band concert. However, I still had to go over all the material I missed, so here's a summary of what I read:

• Effective surveillance is key in lifeguarding. There are several elements of effective surveillance including recognition of dangerous behaviors (things like a weak swimmer bobbing in water over their head,  crawling hand over hand to the deep end or a child left unattended), victim recognition (being able to recognize when someone is in trouble), effective scanning (watching the whole pool without being distracted), zone surveillance (covering your assigned zone of the pool) and effective use of lifeguard stations.
• There are three types of potential victims, distressed swimmers, active drowning victims, and passive drowning victims. Distressed swimmers can keep their head above water, possibly wave for help and yell out, have an expression of concern, can breathe, have little or no forward motion and are less and less able to keep themselves up. Active drowning victims have their head tilted back towards the surface, struggle to stay at the surface, have an expression of panic and are wide-eyed, struggle to breathe, keep their arms to their sides and alternate them up and down, have no forward motion, cannot call out for help and they are either at the surface or sinking. Passive drowning victims are face up or face down in the water/ submerged, have limp or compulsive like movements, their eyes may be closed, are not breathing, have no motion, are either horizontal or vertical in the water, no forward motion, and cannot call for help.

Then the class spent the remaining two hours in the pool practicing how to rescue a passive drowning victim in deep water. This turned out to be a really challenging rescue and was even harder to learn by myself. Thankfully one of the other lifeguards helped me and I'm getting better at it. The primary lifeguard enters the pool and swims over to the victim, using a vertical in-water dive to quickly submerged and grab hold of the  victim. Then the primary lifeguard pulls on the excess rope of the buoy to reach the surface with the victim. Luckily this is a "two-person" rescue, so the secondary lifeguard (or back up) retrieves the backboard (after the primary calls for it) and grabs the victims' wrists so that the primary can get out and slide the backboard into place. Both lifeguards grab a wrist and begin to pull the backboard out of the water, careful to keep it close to the ground and set it down gently.

Class 1

4/30/12

Today I took my first lifeguard class. I'll admit it didn't get off to a great start; during the first class I realized that the I wouldn't be able to attend the next class because of an upcoming band concert. I immediately freaked out because Red Cross has a general rule that to obtain certification you must attend ALL classes, but I had a long chat with the managers and instructors and they decided that I would be allowed to remain in the class as long as I am responsible for the materials I miss. I'm a little nervous about when I'll have time to look over those missed skills, but a couple of my friends from class said they'd go over it with me.

Anyways, on to first impressions of the class. When I first walked in the little tiny classroom at the back of the pool, two things surprised me. First of all, that there were actually quite a few people taking the class, and secondly that most of the people in the room were around my age. I don't know if I was expecting, like, really old people or something or at least more college students but all the 15 year olds caught me off guard. That isn't to say they aren't all totally nice. Quite the opposite actually, I'm already pretty good friends with three of them (having gone in the class knowing one person). I even met one girl that plays oboe just like me! I could tell we were all kind of nervous at first, but as soon as we launched into the actual material we were fine.

We all received our own CD textbook to read along with during the class. Most of the class time is made up of  watching videos and listening to lectures. It got a little boring at times but the instructors worked really hard to change it up and make little jokes in between. I also tried to concentrate really hard the whole time and take excellent notes because I REALLY don't want to have to take this class again.

Pretty much all we learned the first class was simple commonsense knowledge like characteristics and responsibilities of a lifeguard. Chapter One in the textbook is titled "The Professional Lifeguard". We went over decision making in emergency situations and legal considerations you should take before treating a patron of the pool (ask for consent first!)  and how you should participate in In-Service Training at least once every three months and how team-work with your other guards is super important.

Then we watched a video on the proper surveillance techniques for a lifeguard. Also shown in the video were the three different types of entries. An entry is the method the lifeguard uses to enter the pool to reach their victim. The three types of entries are slide-in (used in shallow pools and when you suspect the victim to have a head/neck/or back injury, stride (used to keep your eyes on the victim at all times and when you have to jump off the pool deck, and the compact jump (used when you have to jump off low lifeguard stands in shallow water).

After taking notes and watching the video we suited up to get a feel for actually performing these skills. We learned out to properly put on the lifeguard buoy (strap over your shoulder, buoy held firmly across your chest and squeezed under your armpits with the excess rope in your hand) and tried out all types of the entries. The slide-in was a breeze, and the compact jump was pretty easy, but the stride entry was downright difficult. I tried four times and while I improved each time I didn't perfect it at all. It involves walking off of the pool deck like you're taking a big step (like walking off a cliff) and then right as you hit the water you scissor kick your legs to keep your head from going under. I tried and tried but my head went under every time!

We only had a few minutes left in the class at this point, so we decided to try rescuing an actively drowning victim. We got in partners and the "drownee" faced away from us, flailing their arms. To save the victim we had to use a stride entry to get in the pool and swim over to them, and then link our arms under their armpits and tow them with their heads on our shoulder back to the deck while we swam on our backs. We also learned to talk to them calmly and kindly and to tell them our names and that we were lifeguards.

All in all, I had a really good time at this class and I can't wait to go back!