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First aid and health

First aid is the first skill to learn because it protects everyone while the rest are learned. The medical module owns all first aid and clinical content; this step covers how to learn and keep the skill.

How

  1. Book a recognised course for every adult and capable teen (see medical-6). Examples: American Red Cross Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED covers burns, cuts, head and spine injuries, heat and cold emergencies and breathing and cardiac emergencies, with a certificate valid for two years (US).
  2. UK: British Red Cross public courses (first aid for adults, first aid for baby and child) last about four hours and do not issue a certificate; a free 90-minute workshop is open to adults 19 and over.
  3. Canada: most Canadian Red Cross certificates are valid for three years. Australia: St John HLTAID011 Provide First Aid is about 8 hours in class plus about 5 hours online. St John Victoria says renew it every three years and CPR every 12 months.
  4. Add bleeding control: the STOP THE BLEED course teaches direct pressure, wound packing and tourniquet use (see medical-7).
  5. Add a remote or wilderness first aid course for at least one person, because help may never come (medical-8).
  6. Do not rely on the certificate date alone. A study of drivers who had once trained found CPR skills had almost completely decayed over a long interval, and a short video plus brief practice restored performance. Practise often (skills-18, skills-22).
  7. Follow the training ladder and learn the clinical rules (heat, cold, burns, bites) in the medical module: medical-8, medical-22, medical-18.

Do these first

Sources

  1. Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED (class page). American Red Cross, accessed 2026-11
  2. Book a first aid course. British Red Cross, accessed 2026-11
  3. Learn first aid: free workshop for adults. British Red Cross, accessed 2026-11
  4. Which types of certifications are offered?. Canadian Red Cross, accessed 2026-11
  5. Provide First Aid (HLTAID011), 1 day. St John Ambulance Western Australia, accessed 2026-11
  6. STOP THE BLEED information sheet. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension (American College of Surgeons programme), accessed 2026-11
  7. Keeping Bystanders Active: Resuscitating Resuscitation Skills (Maass et al., 2019). Frontiers in Public Health, accessed 2026-11
  8. When does my first aid certificate expire?. St John Ambulance Victoria (Australia), accessed 2026-11

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