Knowing what to do and how to act in an accident or medical emergency can be the key to survival, including our closest environment. According to a report by the International Red Cross, approximately half of accidental deaths can be avoided if we have knowledge of first aid, which is why we consider it vitally important to take a CPR course.

But what is CPR? Why is it important?

CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) is a technique used when a person suffers cardiac arrest. The main objective is for the heart to reactivate its function to restore the victim’s respiratory capacity. Cardiac arrests arrive without warning, affecting both young people and adults. To save lives, it is important that people have a minimum of knowledge about how to act in these cases. Even, it is necessary for the little ones to learn CPR maneuvers as soon as possible and call the emergency services as soon as possible. The earlier they gain consciousness, the better the victim’s chance of survival.

CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) maneuvers are an effective technique that can save lives in case the victim is facing cardiac arrest or drowning. Even if your knowledge is not the best about it, it is better to try something than to do nothing. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation combines cardiac compressions (keeping the blood oxygenated and circulating until palpitations can be restored) with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (to supply oxygen to the lungs).

We rely on our efficient emergency assistance systems, our ambulance network, and healthcare personnel. Our country has one of the most efficient emergency systems in the entire world. However, there are accidents for which the response time may be insufficient or certain conditions prevent timely attention. The remoteness, characteristics of the event, and the impossibility of notifying the accident can increase the risk of worsening the victim’s condition. Luckily, more and more Australians are now aware of at least one training session. For example, what is recommended is this first aid training Melbourne. This training is professionally designed to accommodate participants from various age levels.

​Anyway, for this reason, knowledge of basic first aid techniques is crucial in many accidents, medical emergencies, or catastrophic events. Mastering the main techniques for assisting injured or accident victims can make the difference between life and death in many cases. In other less serious cases, early attention to an injury can be decisive in containing and stabilizing its effects until the arrival of emergency services.

Who should know first aid techniques?

According to doctors specializing in critical medicine, the entire population should have basic knowledge of rescue and first aid. It is estimated that between 40 and 60% of accident deaths have occurred due to the lack of early or effective care at the time of the event. The first minutes after the occurrence of an accident can be crucial to save the life or stabilize the victim until specialized care.

In some countries like Germany, Switzerland, or Denmark, a basic first aid course is mandatory to obtain a driving license. In other countries such as Italy or Argentina, teachers at any level must take these courses as part of their academic training.

First aid knowledge should be mastered by:

– Any person who is in contact with at-risk populations or who, due to their profession, is exposed to risky situations.

– Any professional in the area of services, restaurants, and hotels.

– Teachers, caregivers, tutors, and parents of infants, children or adolescents.

– Public transport drivers and public service providers.

Like all branches of knowledge, first aid courses are taught gradually, progressively, and sequentially. From the most basic rescue and care techniques to the most complex ones with a greater degree of involvement or attention to more complex situations.

All first aid courses contemplate a fundamental principle that is based on:

– Knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques

– Location and measurement of vital values: heart rate, respiratory rate, and other vital signs.

– Measurement of the victim’s degrees of consciousness.

– Management of wounds and placement of bandages.

– Basic hemorrhage containment.

– Basic immobilization of fractures, sprains, or traumas.

– Clearing and un-obstructing airways.

– Alert, timely notification, and collaboration with emergency services.

– Evacuation techniques and transfer of injured people in catastrophic cases.

In a CPR course, along with this knowledge, the person acquires the ability to maintain serenity and objectivity in an emergency situation. Mastering these techniques can be essential in our work, personal, and family spheres. CPR stories, songs, videos, and video games are the most requested options by centers that want to add this practice to their students, obtaining incredible results. In the end, a first aid course is very important for anyone, remembering that disaster can happen at any time and anywhere.

The health business is always tempting and if you can put things right, success is something that is not difficult to achieve. If you are an entrepreneurial medical professional and are thinking about setting up your own health clinic, this article may interest you, since we offer you the keys to developing your project. Obviously, first, it is necessary to have a clear business project, with a study of the services to be provided, the location of the business, an analysis of the competition, possible clients, and fixed expenses.

Today, healthcare professionals are not only responsible for caring for patients and prescribing medications, because many have also become major entrepreneurs. However, investing in a business such as opening a clinic or office, for example, is not an easy task as many imagine. Along the way, there may be some challenges, but don’t worry, with the right actions you can do great and achieve the success you want.

Here are six valuable tips to begin the process of opening a medical practice.

Planning

This is the first stage of opening any business, after all, without good planning, everything you achieve in a short time can dissolve. It is very important to do research and budgets, make calculations, put together spreadsheets, in short, organize your ideas and then put them into practice. In the planning phase, you can also choose the location and structure where the clinic or office will open, so be sure to look for a location that is easily accessible to future patients and that is in line with your budget.  You can start now looking for quality medical equipment at affordable prices, for example, medicine cabinets, examination tables, and so on.

​Any project must be supported by network studies and have all the studies prepared that support the project to be carried out, including the functional plan. If this support does not exist when the design is carried out, the project is susceptible to changes during the contracting or construction process, which implies higher costs and delays in its execution.

Hiring professionals

When we talk about hiring, we refer to all sectors: health professionals, receptionists, secretaries, administrators, and general services. If you, as a health professional, will be the only one who acts in patient care, you can reduce the number of employees, since the number of tasks will be smaller. Even so, it is necessary to make a good selection of candidates and evaluate each profile thoroughly, as this makes it easier to raise the clinic’s reputation. The wrong choice at the start can cause problems later. That’s why careful selection is so important.

Decor

Both the colors used and other decoration points must be chosen in a way that conveys good feelings to patients and provides them with the necessary comfort. It is very important that the decoration is related to your specialty, and because it is in the health area, it does not necessarily have to be purely white. The color white can give the feeling of a larger place and refers to hygiene, however, this color can also cause discomfort when referring to hospitals.

Hiring medical software

With technology working in our favor, opening a practice using the old conventional agendas and records becomes obsolete and ineffective, because there are already systems that automate all processes, such as scheduling, attendance, financial releases, and even billing. In addition, good software can help with various tasks, such as confirming appointments by SMS and WhatsApp and the online agenda, where the patient can schedule their appointment through the clinic’s website.

Excellence in service

Valuing good service is essential for the success of your office, after all, just like in any commercial establishment, when a client is well served, in addition to coming back, they recommend you. In the health area, it is no different, so providing good care is essential to maintain and attract new patients. It is also essential to provide a humanized service where good communication between the health professional and the patient prevails and transmits sympathy. In addition to these points, many others are essential.

And finally robust and transparent bidding processes and contract administration

It is important that the tender documents and terms of reference for designs, works, and supervision are complete, and that they clearly define the scope of the projects without ambiguities, as well as that the signed contracts are administered and managed appropriately, with simple operational procedures. Weaknesses in these aspects give rise to blind spots, unforeseen works, or disputes between the parties during execution. Of course, this point is not limited to health clinic projects but also applies to other business projects.

Did you like the tips? We hope it has helped you make good decisions on your new journey.

It happens to everyone throughout life that we have to deal with family situations that we cannot manage with our own strength. A parent who partially loses autonomy or clarity, a sick or disabled family member, or more simply one with a thousand daily commitments, needs help at home. We try to manage everything with the utmost commitment but we realize that as the weeks go by, our strength is lacking and that all the other spheres of our life are strongly affected.

In these situations, we must find practical and quick solutions that can help us manage everyday life, solutions that concern home care. Before identifying solutions for any housekeepers for cleaning the house, for an hourly career or a live-in career, or evaluating solutions in hospitalization in a structure; it is essential to take 5 steps that will make our choices more effective and aware for us and our loved ones; maybe saving us a little more money. These are simple, perhaps banal, but concrete and functional pieces of advice.

Get rid of guilt and get help

In the past there was the extended family, there was the neighbor, there was the community of the street, of the neighborhood, of the village that guaranteed you assistance but is it still like this today? In a big city do you know your neighbors? Is there still a sense of being part of a community?

The first piece of advice is to free ourselves from any sense of guilt if we cannot do it on our own and to think that asking for support and help is the most responsible and effective way to do good for our loved ones.

General practitioner

To better understand the real needs of the person we want to assist, it is certainly essential to consult the general practitioner, more commonly called a general practitioner. He probably already knows the previous situation, any critical issues of the pathology, or the needs that a non-self-sufficient elderly person has but struggles to express. If he had not followed it previously, he still has all the tools to understand any future evolutionary scenarios and direct you to a physiatrist, a specialist, or a specialized center. General practitioners are the first professionals who can offer you top-level advice and direct you on the right path using the national health service and possibly offer you services, that could guarantee you a defined and structured path of completely free nursing and rehabilitation care. In this context, Home Care Assistance in Bethesda, MD is one of the best examples.

Local or municipal social services

The third step is to contact the local or local social services. There are information desks for the elderly and disabled with associated services. Often there are operators or social workers who can meet you and provide you with useful information, offer you services, or put you on a waiting list to access them at a later stage. Their expertise in knowing the area, the services available, and the various structures can be a turning point. Obviously, the resources are sometimes not unlimited, there are priorities in the waiting lists depending on the severity of the situation and the economic availability of the patient.

Check with your family and friend network for availability and resources

The fourth step is to discuss with the relatives and friends of the patient to share with them the needs of our loved one and to bring out from everyone the availability of time that everyone is willing to share, the economic resources that everyone can give, and any ideas, solutions, contacts that could be useful to the cause. It can also be complex because family stories are not always simple but sitting around a table with the patient’s children, cousins and friends can guarantee a treatment project of the highest level. Trying to reorganize your time around the needs of your loved one has great value. Future choices will be planned based on what emerges from this meeting.

Search and find out about services in the area

The fifth step is to take action in the area and look for useful information and possible services also through word of mouth or Google Maps to understand the local services closest to the patient’s home. Going to the parish, contacting your trusted pharmacist, asking associations, looking for a career agency or a recreational center for the elderly, are all steps that cost nothing and can provide you with solutions.

Conclusion:

The information collected and the availability of time and resources that emerge must be integrated with the solutions found. The questions to be answered should be:

– Understand whether our family member can be managed at home or in a facility

– If the identification of a family assistant figure will be managed at home

– Define the number of hours per week for the career or cleaner or other figure

– Identify the monthly cost of the caregiver or housekeeper

– The availability of time from the family and friend network to dedicate oneself to one’s loved one on the days in which the family assistant is not working, is on holiday, or is ill.

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