Lifeguards play a very crucial role in saving people’s lives when they need emergency help in the water body. This calls for a need for them to go through training to get lifeguard first aid certification to be able to undertake the rescue and first aid effectively. In Canada, the training classes are provided at national wide level with the primary goals of helping the lifeguards be able to respond to emergencies after recognizing them. Lifeguards also have a primary duty to prevent drowning or injuries that occur on the beach or pools. There are first aid training organizations, universities and swimming clubs that provide the training. They offer life saving services and other sponsored classes.
Requirements to get lifeguard first aid certification
In most cases, there is no specific schedule for the lifeguard training schedules meaning that the course can be accessed even during the weekends. The basic requirement for one to qualify for a lifeguard first aid certification is a minimum of fifteen years and a candidate must be capable of swimming up to three hundred yards continuously. The candidate must also have the ability to swim using an object weighing ten pounds and use a surface dive after retrieving the same.
Content covered
The certification is crucial as it enables one to be able to rescue a person from water and distinguish a person who is under distress. The trainees are also taught how to use a wide range of equipments such as backboards and the lifesaving rings. Water care and other care training are also included in the course. Lifeguard first aid certification in the modern days also include CPR and first aid training. There are two parts of test involved. There is the written exam and in the water exam which is more of a practical exam. To get the certificate, a candidate must attain 80 percent that shows that they have a high level of understanding about skills involved in emergency management in aquatic settings. On the other hand, the practical part of the exam involves testing the ability of a candidate to throw line accurately and being able to carry out several active and passive rescues. This is where compact jumps, shallow dives and other techniques used to rescue peoples are involved. There are also tests for first aid and CPR. The Lifeguard first aid certification provided lasts for up to three years while the CPR certification is valid for one year.