One of the most important components of first aid and CPR training is physical assessment. When done systematically and properly, this simple medical technique enables rescuers to find injuries which the patient or the individual might not be aware of. This is why the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA has mandated that businesses, especially those that belong in riskier industries such as shipyard employment, are required to pay for first aid training courses which contain the right topics when it comes to assessment. Here are the injuries that rescuers should know how to assess for in an OSHA-approved training course.
Respiratory and Cardiac Arrest
Respiratory arrest is common in industries that deal with chemicals or those who have workplace environments where smoke and dust particles are present in the air. Cardiac arrests should be treated promptly especially in a workplace that is not accessible to nearby EMT’s or hospitals.
Burns, Bleeding, Abrasions/Lacerations and Eye Injuries
These are the most common types of injuries in heavy industries since dealing with heavy and hazardous equipments and machineries are common.These simple injuries may become lethal when left untreated since it can lead to massive blood loss and other types of complications.
Bone and Muscle Injuries
Employees should learn how to assess for these types of injuries through physical assessment since these injuries can present themselves asymptomatically. This means that there are times wherein there are no obvious physical symptoms such as bruises. However through a trained eye, these injuries can be properly identified by using other cues such as the patient’s behavior.
Loss of Consciousness or mental functioning
Prompt assessment of these medical conditions does not only save the life of the afflicted individual but the lives of their employees as well. This is because these medical conditions can interfere with the individual’s logical reasoning which would influence him or her to behave erratically and violently. This should be highly avoided especially in a workplace environment where there are a lot of equipment that can be used as a deadly weapon. Syncope or sudden loss of consciousness is also extremely dangerous especially for employees who are operating heavy duty equipment.
Through 1st aid and CPR training, employees will learn how to assess for these medical conditions properly without compromising the safety of others. They will also learn about the appropriate medical interventions that should be administered or applied immediately after the assessment to ensure that these medical emergencies do not worsen beyond treatment.
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