Friday, May 02, 2014

Half the Battle.

One time I took a one-day class (for which it turned out I was woefully underqualified) from Todd Green called "Speed Kills". Last Saturday morning I took a four-hour class that could have been titled the opposite:
"Speed Saves": 100bpm chest compressions are gonna blur in available light, and she's not dawdling with the AED pads, either.
It's been a long cold lonely winter without conventional gun skool, but when I asked Kathy Jackson over lunch on Monday whether I should count the eight hours of Indiana Firearms Law back in February and Saturday's four hours of Shooter Self Care towards my "I Love Me"* total, she looked at me like I was slightly dim and said "Well, yeah."
School's in Session: AD in tha house.
If you're going to be shooting a lot, even if it's just for fun, and especially if you're going to be going around armed in the day-to-day world, there are a lot of things it could be very important to know beyond how to shave a quarter second off your slidelock reloads.

There are reviews of the class all over the place, so I'm not going to go over stuff what's been done elsewhere already: Go read them.

Thanks to AD for the fancy book learnin', Brownells for the chow, and Bound Tree Medical for the Band Aids, and thanks to Franciscan St. Francis hospital for hosting.

*The asterisk is because this ties into a post about "certificate collecting" that I've been meaning to write for months.
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17 comments:

Boat Guy said...

Real First-Aid training is one of those "life skills" people oughtta have. I'd class firefighting as another one - at least enough to use a fire extinguisher well - at the proper time. Here in wildfire country we need to at least understand what's merely dangerous and what constitutes a GTFO emergency.

staghounds said...

I #$%^ hate it that I could not come.

AD can get a nice little supplementary income traveling and doing this class for big ranges, gun schools, police departments...

Tam said...

When I was working at SmithKline's corporate flight department we had to get formal certification (and annual recertification, of course) in using fire extinguishers, which was pretty cool actually. :D

Jennifer said...

I get to re-certify on fire extinguishers annually. It's honestly a lot of fun. Just did my first aid, CPR, AED too. Still wish I could have taken Kelly's class. Sounds like it was a good one.

mikee said...

Re certificate collecting: I'm with Dethklok on validation.

If one can buy psychological validation one does not need another person to dole out yellow banana stickers.

Source: http://www.watchcartoononline.com/metalocalypse-season-1-episode-7-performance-klok#check

Validation purchase occurs at 9:41 and will make zero sense without watching the previous 9:41.

DaddyBear said...

Yes, thanks to AD and everyone else for putting this on. I learned there are a few things I need to unlearn, and Girlie Bear got a heck of a lot out of it. One thing I forgot to mention in my review is that even if you have first aid training from a few years ago, you need a refresher because the science and methods have moved forward, especially in the CPR and tourniquet realms.

Jake (formerly Riposte3) said...

"even if you have first aid training from a few years ago, you need a refresher because the science and methods have moved forward, especially in the CPR and tourniquet realms."

^^^^THIS^^^^

I have to re-certify in Healthcare Provider CPR every 2 years, and the changes that were made ~3-4 years ago were pretty significant. The changes for bystander CPR were even bigger. And the science on tourniquets has done a complete 180, going from "never, ever, ever use" to being the first intervention for certain wounds.

There have been big changes in just the last 5 years or so, with a greater emphasis on evidence-based treatment.

Anonymous said...

I was surprised at a big 3 gun match that there was no first aid kits in sight.

I dragged my mine along and patched up 3 folks for various minor stuff who took a spills when running around the COF.

I wish I could have made it to Indy just for that course.

Gerry

OldTexan said...

That is interesting, I had a good deal of training over the years but I had no idea how much things have changed. I think it might be time for me to take advantage of some of the training offered in this area.

I spend a fair amount of time hunting and shooting with good safety minded people but I do know things can happen and a situation can go South real fast.

Thank you for the posting.

Aaron said...

Yes, it was a great class with significant skills and information imparted by AD and his team of helpers.

The change in CPR since my last certification a year and a half ago is huge and as explained by AD makes a ton of sense. The class was worth it for that alone.

The CPR, AED, tourniquet use, and GSW wound treatment information was excellent, and will translate to situations that we're far more likely to encounter that occur off the range and not due to a GSW.

Boat Guy said...

Y'alls comments ref CPR have me looking into it. Been a while.

Old NFO said...

Yep, WELL worth the time, and concur on the thanks to those who assisted!

perlhaqr said...

"Another One Bites the Dust" is 100 BPM, just so you know...

:D

Bruce said...

You mean artificial respiration is no longer pressing on their backs and lifting their arms?
I learned first aid in the scouts around 1962.

Drang said...

We are already making plans to attend next year's AAM, since it would be too easy to combine with a visit to my parents. I am hoping that AD can repeat the class then.

Going in, I thought the class on using a fire extinguisher in CERT training was silly, but it was pretty good, actually.

And apparently attaching a Trauma Kit to your range bag is still a novel concept outside the Gunternet.

Turk Turon said...

Excellent class!

Windy Wilson said...

Bruce, only if you think there's a lot of water in their lungs. Rescue Breathing won't help much if something's already in them.
And when I worked in aerospace I took a course on how to use the fire extinguisher, and it included hands-on use of several fire extinguishers on big trays of a gasoline-like liquid. More flashy than kerosene, less so than gasoline. VERY good practice in aiming the extinguishers at the base of the fire, as the instructions say.
Kind of expensive, as you need 2-3 extinguishers per participant.