Friday March 2, 2012
The FISHBIO crew received wilderness first aid and CPR training earlier this week from Sierra Rescue. Although we pride ourselves in exercising safe practices while working in the field, some things are unavoidable and even with all the right precautions accidents or medical emergencies can still happen. Since we often work in remote backcountry locations where it can take hours to get help from emergency medical services, knowing what to do when something goes wrong can make all the difference in the world.
Knowledge of CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) to resuscitate someone is valuable when working near electricity and water, as we often do while conducting electrofishing surveys. We all had a great time practicing hands-on scenarios, such as identifying and treating sprains, breaks, dislocations, hypothermia and illness. Hopefully, we won’t need to put our first aid skills to use, but it’s nice to have the capability if needed.