St John Ambulance Australia (NSW) Scout Training Area __________________________________________________________ Scouts Australia — NSW Branch Scouts’ First Aid Team

On this page:

• The Team

• The Classes we offer

• Assessments

• Competencies, Requirements and Content

• A compact list of our classes

The Team

The Scout Area of St John Ambulance Australia (NSW), also known as the Scouts' First Aid Team, teaches a wide variety of the First Aid classes available from St John Ambulance. The Trainers, who are all Scout or Guide Leaders, have all undertaken training by St John Ambulance, and teach the courses as members of St John Ambulance Australia (NSW).

Our aim is to teach you the knowledge and skills of First Aid so that you can confidently fulfil the role of First Aider if the unfortunate does occur. Your confidence to do that could mean the difference between life and death at an accident scene which you are the first to encounter. That difference might be achieved simply by ensuring that the casualty's airway is open. Remember: Any resuscitation is better than no resuscitation. There are lots of considerations; some are touched on in the Frequently Asked Questions section in FAQs & Links.


The Classes we offer

Our team is accredited to teach the following classes :

Apply First Aid* is our most popular. It is recommended basic first aid training for all Scout and Guide Leaders, particularly when their duty of care is considered, and is required to hold any of the adventurous activities qualifications. There is a wide range of topics covered now, so the accent in Apply First Aid is the management of illness or injury until medical help is available, with the supposition that medical help from the Ambulance Service is readily available, say in ten to twenty minutes. As many Scouting and Guiding activities take us beyond ready access to Ambulance, Leaders should consider the Remote Area First Aid course, which may be more appropriate to their circumstances.

Note: (*) 'Apply First Aid' is the new name for what used to be known as 'Senior First Aid'. The National competency gained is the same, 'HLTFA301B Apply First Aid'. Hence the new name.

Apply First Aid is a modular package, with the first half day devoted to Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and the first whole day covering the syllabus of Emergency First Aid. Those seeking these qualifications can enrol in any of our two-day Apply First Aid classes, marking their enrolment "CPR Only" or "EFA Only", and stay for just that component of the course. If you want to do this, please contact the Secretary of the First Aid Team (contact details at the foot of the page) for advice on the appropriate fee.

Emergency First Aid is an appropriate course for Scouts and Guides (generally 11 to 14 years of age) as it covers the material most relevant to them and leads to a National qualification with a currency of three years. Candidates under fourteen will need the written approval from a parent giving consent to the teaching of CPR to a person under fourteen. See the Emergency First Aid page for more information. Adults can also join our Emergency First Aid courses, and parents of Scouts and Guides can accompany their offspring to a course, and gain the skills and qualification while taking advantage of our family discounts.

Apply First Aid is the best choice for those fourteen or fifteen years of age. Candidates under fourteen can be accepted into the class if they have written approval from a parent giving consent to the teaching of CPR to a person under fourteen. Maturity and strength considerations arise also. See the Apply First Aid page for more information.

There is a one-day Apply First Aid class called 'AP1', available both as a first course in First Aid or to those updating a previous qualification. If you are unfamiliar with the concepts and skills involved, through not having undertaken First Aid before or because your last course was some time ago, we suggest Apply First Aid by e-Learning which involves private study and the same one-day class and assessment. The one-day Apply First Aid class involves a lot of activity and scenarios, leading to the candidate gaining or renewing the Apply First Aid qualification for three years. See the Apply First Aid - One Day page.

Remote Area First Aid is the course we promote as being the most appropriate to Scouting and Guiding Leaders. It covers the sustained management of illness or injury while remote from further medical aid. It is now a two-day course, and candidates must be current in Apply First Aid. Because it covers some sensitive issues like death in the field and management of incontinence, Remote Area First Aid is not the course one would recommend to Scouts or the younger Venturers. The better option for the older Scout or younger Venturer is the Apply First Aid course, and to return to us for the Remote Area First Aid course later when the Apply First Aid comes due for renewal, when the person is 16 – 18.

If you have a current St John Apply First Aid qualification and seek to upgrade to Remote Area First Aid, we are able to offer a special reduced course fee for the Remote Area First Aid course. If you attend our one-day or two-day Apply First Aid course just before the Remote Area First Aid course, the fee reduction is even greater.

St John Ambulance only allows us to teach Remote Area First Aid to members and affiliates of Scouts Australia and Guides Australia. Others seeking a Remote Area First Aid class should approach St John Ambulance.

Analgesic Administration (2 hours), Automated External Defibrillation and Advanced Resuscitation are components of the Advanced Life Support course. The qualification is valid for one year. We schedule an Advanced Life Support class each year in early February, and most of our Trainers update their skills annually by attending. Others are welcome, and we generally have some members of our First Aid Support Team (FAST) adding to their skills. There may be other Advanced Life Support classes scheduled, particularly as components of Advanced First Aid classes. The three components of Advanced Life Support can be undertaken separately, but most elect to do the whole course. The Analgesic Administration qualification is not available to those under eighteen years of age, but younger folk can nevertheless enrol in the Advanced Life Support class, and learn about Analgesic Administration for their interest, but they will be awarded the Advanced Resuscitation qualification, rather than the Advanced Life Support qualification. Apply First Aid is a prerequisite of the Advanced Life Support class, or its components.

Anaphylaxis Training is a class which we don't schedule as such, but can teach on demand. It covers the recognition and management of a severe allergic reaction. Any Leader with a child having a peanut allergy, for instance, should seek Anaphylaxis Training not only for himself or herself, but for fellow Leaders and for parents in the Group. Seeonees and Mindaris might seek Anaphylaxis Training for their group. Anaphylaxis Training takes two hours, and can take place on the group meeting night, if convenient. Please contact the Chairman of the First Aid Team. (The Chairman's contacts are displayed at the foot of the page.)

Preliminary First Aid (First Aid for Juniors) is a one-day course for those over ten and not yet fourteen. Learning by doing is the key, and the assessment is progressive through the day, rather than having an exam at the end.

Advanced First Aid is a three-day class covering the scope of Apply First Aid, Advanced Life Support and Advanced First Aid. The Advanced First Aid component extends the Apply First Aid content with added depth, and covers casualty monitoring, safe movement and handling.


Assessments

Assessments are completed within the class times.

Analgesic Administration (AAG) involves a theory examination of 10 multiple-choice questions.

In Anaphylaxis (ANA), Automated External Defibrillation (AED), and Preliminary First Aid (First Aid for Juniors) (PFA), the assessment is progressive: candidates are assessed on their performance of tasks as they occur through the course.

In Advanced Resuscitation (ADR), there is a CPR assessment, and a progressive assessment of other skills and knowledge. Likewise for Advanced Life Support (ALS), but the Analgesic Administration (AAG) component involves a theory examination of 10 multiple-choice questions.

In Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), there is a CPR assessment.

In Apply First Aid (AP1 and AP2), Emergency First Aid (EFA), and Remote Area First Aid (RFA), there are three assessments, two skills-based and one knowledge-based: requiring the candidate to show competence in CPR, casualty management and in a multiple-choice theory paper.

CPR Assessment
- Perform effective CPR on an adult-sized manikin for two minutes
- Follow the St John DRSABCD Action Plan during the resuscitation scenario
- Candidates are assessed practically in line with Australian Resuscitation Council Guidelines
- Results are recorded against the Critical Elements Check List. This checks for correct hand position, effective compressions, effective ventilation, correct ratio of compressions to breaths and correct CPR rate.

Casualty Management Assessment
- Candidates are to lead their teams through the given casualty management scenario
- Casualty management should reflect St John First Aid procedures
- Results are recorded against the Critical Elements Check List. This checks that the ambulance has been called, the casualty's consent has been gained, the DRSABCD Action Plan has been followed, infection control practices are correct (such as using gloves), checking the casualty's breathing, controlling blood loss, managing shock, secondary assessment and the casualty is monitored and reassured. There are further checks specific to each scenario.

Knowledge Assessment: multiple choice theory examination of 10, 25 or 40 questions according to course
- Assesses key topics from the curriculum
- Closed book assessment
- Competency is achieved with a score of 80% or better
- Alternative arrangements are available on request, eg. verbal assessment.

We will show you the right answers before you leave, so that you leave confidently knowing the correct responses.

In each case, candidates must achieve competency in each of the assessments to gain the qualification. If you are unable to meet the physical requirements of the practical assessments, you may be eligible to receive a letter of attendance.

After the class, the Trainer sends the class papers with results to the Secretary, who checks the results, adds them to our Team's records, and sends them and the administration papers to our St John Ambulance contact at Liverpool, all by post. Processing by St John generally takes about a week, but can take three weeks when their work load is heavy. So expect your certificates about three weeks to a month or more after the class.

Candidates may appeal the assessment decision as outlined in the St John Ambulance Australia (NSW) Code of Practice document. In the first instance, contact the Bookings Secretary.


Competencies, Requirements and Content

The remaining classes the Scouts' First Aid Team does not teach as a Team (though some of our Trainers do) are Caring For Kids, Family First Aid, Industrial First Aid, Introduction to Sports First Aid, Motorcycle First Aid, and Occupational First Aid.


A compact list of our classes
 - to assist Leaders planning their programs:

First Aid Classes Schedule 2012
This file, a PDF file involving a download of just 17.0kB, lists all of the Scouts' First Aid Team's scheduled classes in 2012.

(For help with PDF files, see the Links section of the FAQs & Links page.)
The schedules of classes of the particular course types are shown on other pages of this site, accessible by the links at the top.

Link to the top of this Page

Page design last updated:  Wednesday 30 November 2011 20:00