First aid is help provided for injured person and is implemented on the site of the incident. The objective of first aid is to secure the vitals and prevent the situation from worsening. (Castrén, Korte & Myllyrinne 2017). At LAB University of Applied Sciences there are special workspaces, where accidents may occur when using special equipment. These include metal, electronics and woodworking workspaces. As students’ first aid skills are improved to a level where they are able to perform the first aid for the possible accidents, the overall safety on the campus increases.
Importance of teaching the first aid skills
The importance of the first aid skills of laypersons cannot be overstated – the knowledge of these skills benefits not only the individual but the community around them (Kishore2017). Teaching first aid skills has been proved to be important. Since the world is changing to a new era of e-learning, the ways to teach first aid skills have changed as well. Variety of studies around the world have focused on the efficiency of knowing and being able to use these lifesaving skills. A first aid training that includes both, how-to-perform procedures and on inhibitors of emergency helping behavior, increases the helping rates (Van de Velde et al. 2009, 455).
First aid video as part of new student’s orientation
As part of their thesis project, Developing basic first aid skills: First aid readiness improvement for students of LAB University of Applied Sciences, Salonen & Virkkunen (2020) worked with and helped LUT Student Services to produce first aid video material. Videos are an important part of higher education and are part, to some degree, of almost all course programs (Brame 2016). The new first aid video includes content on most common first aid situations that could happen in campus. These are falling in stairs and dislocating a joint, deep wounds and burning injuries in the kitchen, eye injuries in the metal workshop, chocking, head injuries, resuscitation and evacuation from campus. Video content reaches a wider audience, it is showable on all LAB campuses, and once it has been shown it is re-watchable, everyone in student body and staff has access to it. In the future the first aid video content will be part of university’s security video, shown during orientations to new students and available for viewing on LAB University of Applied Sciences’ intranet.
Central part of the thesis project has been learning how to make videos. Making videos is something most of us do almost all the time, just take your smartphone and start to film to Youtube, TikTok etc. During this project the authors have learned techniques that help making videos, especially educational videos, to achieve their learning goals.
Authors
Asta-Maarit Virkkunen and Ville Salonen are graduating nursing students from LAB University of Applied Sciences bachelor’s degree programme. The article is based on their bachelor’s thesis.
Sari Lappalainen works as senior lecturer in LAB University of Applied Sciences. She has been guiding the thesis.
Brame, C. 2016. Effective Educational Videos: Principles and Guideline for Maximizing Student Learning from Video Content, CBE-Life Sciences Education. [Accessed 18.3.2020]. Available at: https://www.lifescied.org/doi/pdf/10.1187/cbe.16-03-0125 [PDF].
Castrén, M., Korte, H. & Myllyrinne, K. 2017a. Ensiapu osana hoitoketjua. Terveyskirjasto, Duodecim. [Accessed 10.3.2020]. Available at: https://www.terveyskirjasto.fi/terveyskirjasto/tk.koti?p_artikkeli=spr00002
Kishore, P. 2017. Impactual study of first aid in home. Adiyaman University Journal of Science & Technology. [Accessed 27.3.2020]. Available at: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.saimia.fi/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=1198732a-e176-4b11-9f14-1d2fe8acf7b1%40pdc-v-sessmgr05
Salonen, V., Virkkunen, A-M. 2020. Developing basic first aid skills: First aid readiness improvement for students of LAB University of Applied Sciences. [Accessed 11.6.2020] Available at: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020052915180
Van de Velde, S., Heselmans, A., Roex, A., Vandekerckhove, P., Ramaekers, D. & Aertgeerts, B. 2009. Effectiveness of Nonresuscitative First Aid Training in Laypersons: A Systematic Review. 54/3/2009. Annals of Emergency Medicine. [Accessed 4.5.2020]. Available at: https://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(08)02005-2/pdf [PDF].
