Is this normal on a First Aid course *[Warning: graphic content, concerns child injuries and death]

[Justjoinedforthis]

I just attended a paediatric first aid course, and the video content has left me feeling really sick. Videos of drowned children being given unsuccessful CPR, a video of a woman being killed by falling masonry, a baby having heart failure with parent doing cor wrong...a lot of them seemed to be from a site called the YNC which I googled just now, and it seems to be some hardcore porn site which also has horrible graphic injuries.
The trainer seemed really nice but the videos (and there were many many more awful ones like this) seemed unnecessary and horrible.
Is this the norm? I don’t know whether to say something.

No, doesn’t sound like the St John’s one I did. Hope you’re ok x

Thanks for the reply. I can’t get all the images out of my head. And surely its not ethical to use videos of people actually dying?

Sounds awful! I did a very good one with Daisy First Aid, and it was nothing like that.

No, not typical of a first aid course, paediatric or otherwise.

No!
I’ve done a couple of first aid courses and they are nothing like that.

Sounds terrible and not normal at all.

There must be a governing body for the certified first aid courses I imagine, I’d be asking them about it!

Who organised the course? Was it through work? There is usually a feedback form.

My first aid course had nothing like that, sounds awful :-(

The only video I've seen in first aid courses (I've done several, by several different providers) is the video of the Australian surfer who drowned to demonstrate agonal gasping. It was a clip from one of those fly on the wall type documentaries about some lifeguards, and that video was shown by all of the course providers. Nothing like you've described.

Nothing like that has ever been shown on any of my courses! Sounds really awful and haunting

Could you raise it as a complaint?

I did a few first aid courses as a teacher and never came across anything like that. Who was delivering it?

Who organised the course? That sounds horrendous.

We did a fire safety course at work once where they showed footage of the Bradford city fire, but they gave a warning and allowed people to leave if they didn’t want to see it.

Multiple horrific videos sounds more like someone getting their kicks than a proper course

Definitely not. He needs reporting.

They usually use the dreadful, clearly fake, ones from 1974.

Who organised that?
I've done many many first aid courses over the years as I've been a designated first aider at work and youth settings for over 20 years. Always videos filmed with actors. The one of the child choking on popcorn still makes me cry even though I know it's not real.

I think this needs a complaint.

Thanks for the replies. I work at a council run nursery and it was arranged through them. He does it every year, but I was out of sync so went to this one by myself (with people from other settings). I think I will put in a complaint, but it was so weird as the guy doing it seemed so kind, helpful and empathetic.

Absolutely not OK and you need to report them to whoever organised / paid for / advertised the course.

I've done a first aid for work course, which is an official course accredited by the local council and run by the St John Ambulance and there weren't any videos at all, let alone graphic real life ones.

Nope, not normal on any of the ones I've been on.

Sounds horrific and not like the St John’s one I’ve been on.

I was shown the agonal gasping one and then others with actors simulating a heart attack in an office.
Nothing like you've described - I'd definitely raise a concern about this, very unnecessary.

No, that sounds very odd. Which organisation led the course, and did you go as an individual or through work? You can complain.

Are you sure you were on the right course?

Complain.

That sort of thing it utterly counterproductive.

30 years ago, the NHS used to show a video, as part of their fire training, 'Hospitals don't burn down'.. it was so distressing and disturbing many people refused to attend that or next year's. Thus didn't get any of the fire safety training.

Nooo.

It's all been line drawings and resus dolls. A few grisly stories from the trainer but they were very 'trigger warning and feel free to leave the room at any time' about it, long before trigger warnings were a thing.

I am a qualified clinician and I have never been shown things like that on any course. The worst I've seen in a training is someone with Acute Behavioural Disorder jumping off a roof, and despite attending much worse jobs in real life I thought that was a bit much for a training course.