Register for Free Newsletter by Email and Additional Site Access
Login
First Aid PDF Print E-mail

The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA offer our Scouts the opportunity for organized activities, including first aid.  This is a particularly important activity.  Consequently, we encourage our Scouts to achieve true proficiency in first aid.  emergency medical bag

 

First Aid Standards

 

Our standards come from the American Red Cross, an organization that has been providing exemplary education in first aid for over a hundred years.  The American  Red Cross was created to serve our country in war and in peace, by providing nondiscriminatory medical care on the battle field , safety training, and providing disaster relief, among many other things.  The American Red Cross is constantly updating their standards, and their guidelines for first aid, water safety, and disaster preparedness are cutting edge.

 

In the Great Outdoors

 

When our Scouts are camping or enjoying nature out on their adventures, it is particularly important for them to have knowledge of first aid.  Counselors always supervise our Scouts, however the more members of the team who have first aid training, the more comfortable the entire group is.  All our Scouts have a better time when they know many are capable of helping in an emergency, rather than one or two.

 

….And Everywhere Else

 

Knowledge of first aid can come in handy anywhere.  Our Scouts may need their skills in CPR or the Heimlich maneuver anywhere from out with friends to eating dinner with family.  Our Scout Programs contribute to the development of “whole people”, by helping our Scouts be self-sufficient and helpful to those around them at all times. 

 

First Aid

 

Our Scouts continuously demonstrate their proficiency in first aid.  Their fellow Scouts have these skills themselves, and are the best judges of proficiency since they have been in the same position, demonstrating their skills for other Scouts. 

 

After proficiency in first aid has been achieved, our Scouts must continue to demonstrate they still have true proficiency.  Evaluation opportunities will come up from time to time in which they perform the skills for their fellow Scouts again.

 

We issue a card to our Scouts to show they have achieved true proficiency.  If our Scouts fail to prove they still have true proficiency, one of the corners is cut off.  They have two more chances to demonstrate they still retain the skills.  If they cannot prove they still retain the skills after four attempts, they lose the card, but of course get the opportunity to earn it again.  The reason for this because when our Scouts say they are truly proficient, then they must be.  In the case of an emergency, it is less important that our Scouts have a card saying they are proficient in first aid, than actually being able to perform the skills.  In other programs and organizations, it is possible for youth to earn an award and then forget everything they knew!  Proficiency takes practice and when our Scouts proudly say they are truly proficient in first aid, they mean what they say.

 

We are proud of our Scouts and the skills they acquire through our Scout Programs.  Our Scouts carry these skills throughout their lives, enabling them to be helpful, contributing members of society.  Our Scouts are prepared for life, and they prove it again and again, building self-esteem and respect.

 
Adventure Scouts USA