When one suffers from cardiac arrest, every minute counts. Sure, you want to have a medical team there as soon as possible but when one’s brain is left without air for just 3 minutes, the damage might be irreversible. No matter how close you are to the paramedics or the ER, there’s no team that can be there and starts performing CPR in just 180 seconds. Therefore, when something like this occurs, it’s up to the people on the spot to do the right thing.
With just a bit of CPR training, you can increase the chance that one of these tragic occurrences does not result in a tragic outcome. Overall, here are the top five benefits of CPR training in the workplace, in case you need some more persuasion.
1. Safer working environment
Working in a safer environment is a morale boost. In order for this to hold true, you don’t actually need a situation in which CPR saves a life. All it takes is the cognition that your entire staff is fully trained to deal with this situation if it emerges. While it may not seem as much, a bit of reassurance goes a long way.
Other than this, it also helps to show that you’re so committed to the health and wellbeing of your employees that you will actually invest corporate time and resources in order to ensure it.
For a potential employee, an additional certificate is always a great thing to put on a CV in a scenario where they decide to look for employment elsewhere in the future. Overall, it’s a scenario in which everyone wins.
2. Keeping your staff safe
Being able to save the life of your coworker or protect them from long-term brain damage is a reward on its own.
Now, it’s not just about knowing what to do and how quickly it is to be done – it’s also about knowing how. An attempt without a proper technique will not save a life, however, without the training, chances are that there’ll be no attempt, to begin with.
When it comes to emergencies, people are afraid that they will, somehow, make things worse if they make an attempt. With training comes confidence. This means that if someone actually finds themselves in need of CPR training, the likelihood that someone will actually step up depends on whether or not they are confident in their abilities.
Make no mistake, an online CPR certification at AdvancedMedicalCertification is easy to obtain but it’s also more than enough for one to understand what they’re dealing with in a situation like this.
Most importantly, the skills you get to learn here, you’ll be able to apply even outside of the workplace. In other words, the chance that you save someone’s life will increase either way.
3. Learning how to use your equipment
Chances are that your workplace will be outfitted with first aid kits, even chest compressors. However, if your staff doesn’t know how to use them, it’s virtually like they don’t even exist.
From this standpoint, you’re paying for the training so that your team can actually get value from the gear that you’ve already invested in. The thing is that while the majority of this equipment is designed to be used without much training, this doesn’t necessarily mean without any training.
Also, there’s the element of confidence that we’ve already discussed – the willingness to try something for the first time in a life-or-death situation. An AED machine, for instance, is completely safe to use, however, without any training, some people might be intimidated by it.
4. It’s a team-building activity
Every course is a team-building activity. You see, it’s a simulation and not a real-life activity. This means that there’s no pressure, no urgency, just technique, and awareness-raising. Best of all, your staff gets to do it together.
While the situation that you’re preparing for may seem like a life-or-death situation (in theory), in practice, it will be quite the opposite. You see, it’s not a real danger and, chances are, that people will take some of their work-related tasks far more seriously. In a way, it’s a break from their day-to-day office activities.
You should not be surprised if the ambiance in the workplace is quite friendly. One more thing that this will bring to the table is a chance to distinguish the most courageous from your staff.
Having a leader (someone to follow) in moments of crisis is of utmost importance.
5. There are no reasons not to
The next thing you need to understand is the fact that there are no solid reasons not to introduce CPR training in the workplace.
You see, the cost of such training, especially if you look for online certification is next-to-nothing. This means that you can comfortably budget it without worrying that it will cause a deficit of any kind. Also, the time required to complete this process is really not that long, which means that you won’t take your staff members off their regular duties for too long.
One more perceived estimate is that of pros vs. cons. You see, this is one of those rare skills that you invest in with hopes that you’ll never have to use them (like with self-defense). This means that, like with insurance, it’s an investment that you hope you’ll never see paying off.
So, on the plus side, you’re preparing your staff members to save someone’s life. On the downside, it’s another course that will take a couple of hours of their time with skills that they might never get to use.
Wrap Up
In every workplace there should be CPR training performed, in fact, in an ideal world, everyone, everywhere would know CPR. The number of lives saved and the quality of life preserved would be immeasurable. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world, which means that we have to do with what we’ve got. As an employer (or at least office manager), you’ll have the resources and authority to enact this course as mandatory. While this may sound overly dramatic – it is in your power to save lives. Do not waste this amazing opportunity.