This June, Ross Medical Education Center Medical Assistant Instructor Angela Fulford and students from both Medical Assistant classes in Fort Wayne attended a training session in order to learn the proper procedure in administering CPR and operating an AED device. Students were able to get a glimpse into the daily life of a Medical Assistant which often includes patient triage and responding to emergencies. In this training session the students were shown how to perform the Heimlich maneuver, as well as one and two rescuer adult, child, and infant CPR. Certified instructors demonstrated the use of an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED).
Many people are familiar with the abbreviated term CPR which stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. Cardio is representative of the heart with a central function of pumping blood around the body. Pulmonary indicates the lungs that receive oxygen from the air and deliver it to the blood. Finally, resuscitation involves restoring an individual from death or unconsciousness. The abbreviated term AED stands for Automatic External Defibrillator. This tool is a refined, dependable, safe, computerized device that transports electric shocks to a victim in cardiac arrest when the electrocardiogram rhythm is one that is expected to respond to shock.
There was a great educational benefit to the trainings, but the real lesson is utilizing the tools and techniques to enable each student to save lives. The students loved every moment of the session and feel much more prepared to handle emergency situations should they arise. Many of them have been able to grasp things that they have learned in the classroom with even more fullness in their understanding after the real life application of the seminar. Angela Fulford, the Medical Assistant instructor, was so encouraged to watch her students get excited about their future career as Medical Assistants and to be able to use what they had learned in the classroom!