jan@ascvax.UUCP (Jan Woellhaf) (02/10/86)
I've had several hundred hours training in emergency medicine, including both
Red Cross and Heart Association CPR instruction. I've observed that the CPR
simulated on TV shows like "St. Elsewhere" is almost never done correctly.
Even genuine CPR shown on news programs is often being done incorrectly. A
person whose only exposure to CPR is watching these scenes is almost certain
to learn incorrect technique.
Since even perfectly performed CPR is most often unsuccessful in saving a
life, incorrect CPR must be less effective. I think the primary issue is not
that improper CPR may cause serious injury to the patient, but rather that
incorrect CPR may be completely ineffective.
In the past couple weeks, I've assisted in the unsuccessful resuscitation of
two individuals. Both had been without pulse or respiration for several
minutes before we arrived. Witnesses had not begun CPR immediately. Both
patients died despite advanced cardiac life support administered at the scene
and at the hospital emergency department. Perhaps if CPR had been properly
performed by the witnesses both these people would still be alive.
You cannot learn correct CPR from watching TV shows or from reading CPR
manuals. Therefore, I urge all those who have not already done so to enroll
in a CPR course. Please take the longest course available. This will give
you more time to practice correct CPR on a mannequin, and this is by far the
most important aspect of any CPR course.
Jan Woellhaf, EMT, Firefighter
Wheat Ridge Fire Departmentjsdy@hadron.UUCP (Joseph S. D. Yao) (02/17/86)
In article <122@ascvax.UUCP> jan@ascvax.UUCP (Jan Woellhaf) writes: >You cannot learn correct CPR from watching TV shows or from reading CPR >manuals. Therefore, I urge all those who have not already done so to enroll >in a CPR course. Please take the longest course available. This will give >you more time to practice correct CPR on a mannequin, and this is by far the >most important aspect of any CPR course. Hear, hear! With all due respect to NBC-TV's attempts to help, I must agree. (In the NBC series, one learned from TV -- at 5 AM (???) -- and then came in, practiced, and got certified for the half-course.) I'd recommend at least the 9-12 hour _lecture_ CPR/Basic Life Support class taught by both the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross. There are trivial differences between the two. They should include discussion of anatomy, of prevention and risk factors, of first aid for heart attacks that do not cause cardiac arest, and of the problems you might face as a potential rescuer, as well as the purely technical skills for CPR, AR, and first aid for choking. The ARC Modular course, unless supplemented, only covers the technical skills. As for TV, I have twice seen CPR done correctly. (This is amazing, because I don't watch TV regularly.) Once was on Barney Miller, by a guy who was jailed with a CPR Annie (mannequin) whom he called his girl friend; and once was on M*A*S*H -- where it was done as was best known for the 1950's! (This may not be confused with doing it correctly today.) -- Joe Yao hadron!jsdy@seismo.{CSS.GOV,ARPA,UUCP}
jutz@pogo.UUCP (Curt Jutzi) (02/20/86)
In article <122@ascvax.UUCP> jan@ascvax.UUCP (Jan Woellhaf) writes: >I've had several hundred hours training in emergency medicine, including both >Red Cross and Heart Association CPR instruction. I've observed that the CPR >simulated on TV shows like "St. Elsewhere" is almost never done correctly. >Even genuine CPR shown on news programs is often being done incorrectly. A >person whose only exposure to CPR is watching these scenes is almost certain >to learn incorrect technique. > > Jan Woellhaf, EMT, Firefighter > Wheat Ridge Fire Department You can't really expect them to perform CPR on an actor who has not gone into arrest. It's hard to make it look real without acturaly performing CPR. Curt Jutz tektronix!pogo!jutz