In the beginning, I’ll be teaching lay responders (the average person) Adult, Child and Infant CPR/AED and First Aid. I hope to be able to bridge to CPR for the Professional Rescuer soon and then I’d like to teach the Emergency Response course. That’s equal to the DOT First Responder curriculum.

I’m co-instructing my first class on September 3rd. I’ll let you know how it goes.

A great way to test the water, to see if you actually can cope with the sick and injured, is to join a First Aid Team. In Seattle, the American Red Cross has a group of very dedicated volunteers that provide first aid at a myriad of outdoor events and festivals. I’ve been a Team Lead with the Seattle FAST team for a while and it’s a great group of people. The cast is wide and varied; from new EMTs and Nurses to Pre-Med students to folks who’ve taken a basic first aid class and just want to be involved.

If you’ve got an interest in EMS and want to learn a little more, I invite you to contact your Red Cross chapter and see if they have a FAST team. If they do, join. If they don’t, convince them to start one!