Are these remarks inappropriate

[Lou972]

I attended an adult first aid course. The instructor made these remarks when discussing the defib.

1. Cut off a womens bra as it might have metal. If you're like me though, I've been told I'm useless at removing womens bras and they tell me 'get away from me'
2. Find the correct spot for the defib pads (then showed us where to put them) then said 'if a womans breasts are low then move them out the way'
3. Do not touch the persons bum when putting them into recovery position, this is sexual harassment
4. Shave a mans chest if it is hairy before using the defib, or it might be needed for a womans chest if you come from where I live

Some of the learners where age 17 as well so not adults

Get a grip

seems like you are looking to be offended.
they are just light heated comments made in the context of training. breaking the ice, nothing to get worked up about

But that's not gallows humour and if he knew the jokes would be offensive then why use them? "Ignore my daft jokes" is not an excuse. Many people are clinically expert but still think its ok to use outdated and chauvenistic humour. I wouldn't interrupt the session but would certainly make sureI gave feedback to the training supplier.

1, he was relating it to like in a sexual way, that women tell them to get away from him when he’s trying to undo their bra as he’s useless

Or maybe bras are tricky things to open sometimes? You're really looking to be offended.

No that’s definitely how he meant it
im not getting worked up or offended. I’m not going to complain. My question was were the remarks inappropriate for the situation

I would have a problem with 3 out of 4 of those comments. The bum one is the one I wouldn't, because it is important for a first aid trainer to mention appropriate touch, even when the casualty is unconscious. The low hanging boobs one I only have a problem with because of the context of his other comments. I've been on way more first aid training courses then the average person and never have I heard somebody make reference to low hanging boobs. I'm strongly of the opinion that a woman with a large chest herself could have got away with that comment way better than a man could. If he felt so strongly that it was worth mentioning (a lot of the time trainers are people who have had cause to use their first aid skills in real emergencies and they often have unique experience that they share, so it is possible that he was speaking from experience) then he should have been direct and serious about it, and moved on. The fact that he made comments 1 and 4 is the problem because they have put it into a context of sexist humour.

(Gallows humour that a lot of people in emergency services share as a coping mechanism isn't appropriate for the context of a first aid at work training room).

I think humour can have a place in first aid training - it can break tension, keep folk engaged and create a useful "you and I are safe and on the same team" feeling. The humour he used failed because it "othered" women, and there was at least one woman in the room. You are justified to feel it was inappropriate and it would justify a complaint in my eyes.

Alright. I can't say I would have done more than roll my eyes. But opinions will be divided.

None of that would bother me.

Majority or us were women in the room

Then he really didn't read and respond to the room, did he. What a tool.

Ridiculous to suggest having to shave a man's chest surely ?
Finds man in street unconscious and not breathing , runs off to find defib , runs back , another person is doing cpr ( might not , you could be alone ) rips of their top , finds hairy chest , runs off to boots to buy shaving gel & razor , queues up to buy , runs back to find man very dead ( and body cooling by then )

The one comment was funny but the others not. Very dated and old-fashioned.

Ridiculous to suggest having to shave a man's chest surely ?

Not at all, as numerous other people have pointed out upthread.

Nope.

very necessary to get good contact between most pads and the patient.

Can we just purchase the shaving thing to bed. Yes you should shave, there should be a razor in the defibrillator kit. You just roughly dry shave so the pad will stick, takes seconds.

This is the best response, move on.

*put

In a hospital situation, there is sometimes razors in the crash cart as a very hairy chest can reduce effectiveness of the equipment.

It's not a situation where the area is prepped, water and foam applied - its literally razor to hair, few strokes to remove a sticker sized patch and go - like 4 seconds.

I wouldn’t suggest that- those pads cost a decent bit of money!! There will be (bic type) razors in with the defibs.

My first aid course and a quick google mention moving larger boobs out of the way, plus the use of a razor for hairy chests

maybe he thought he was being more relatable with you mostly being women, mine kept telling us about doing cpr on a close family member (very off putting), it sadly didn’t work as the person had been deceased for a few hours

When putting someone in the recovery position, you would usually use their hip to roll them. I think he was trying to state the obvious with some outdated humour.

Our pads cost £110 per set plus VAT. If someone started using them for waxing strips I think words would be had even in an emergency! Every defib we have (we have over 20) has a defib "accessory" pack attached to the defib so it would be in situ with the defib.

I think his comedy just missed that mark but he does need to be careful as some people will complain and he could lose his job especially Because he is teaching under 18s. Something similar happened to a colleague of mine. Someone should advise him to tone it down.

don't ever use shaving foam. Dry shave only. Or you're risking burns to skin and equipment won't work with wet skin.

From this thread the number of people who have no idea how to use a defib properly is alarming. If your work place has one you should be able to use it. We now have bleed kits as well as defibs and I would expect them to become more common overtime. Hopefully training will be thorough for everyone