Preview

First Aid: History and Goals

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
503 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
First Aid: History and Goals
FIRST-AID

First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by a non-expert person to a sick or injured casualty until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care past the first aid intervention. It generally consists of a series of simple and in some cases, potentially life-saving techniques that an individual can be trained to perform with minimal equipment

.History

The instances of recorded first aid were provided by religious knights, such as the Knights Hospitaller, formed in the 11th century, providing care to pilgrims and knights, and training other knights in how to treat common battlefield injuries.[1] The practice of first aid fell largely in to disuse during the High Middle Ages, and organized societies were not seen again until in 1859 Henry Dunant organized local villagers to help victims of the Battle of Solferino, including the provision of first aid. Four years later, four nations met in Geneva and formed the organization which has grown into the Red Cross, with a key stated aim of "aid to sick and wounded soldiers in the field".[1] This was followed by the formation of St. John Ambulance in 1877, based on the principles of the Knights Hospitaller, to teach first aid, and numerous other organization joined them, with the term first aid first coined in 1878 as civilian ambulance services spread as a combination of 'first treatment' and 'national aid'[1] in large railway centres and mining districts as well as with police forces. First aid training began to spread through the empire through organisations such as St John, often starting, as in the UK, with high risk activities such as ports and railways.

Many developments in first aid and many other medical techniques have been driven by wars, such as in the case of the American Civil War, which prompted Clara Barton

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Clara's first work began on April 19,1861, while providing supplies to the 6th massachusetts Infantry after an attack. These men that she was treating were some that she grew up with and taught, makinh her have a close connection to them. In addition to tending to their every need, she offered personel help to the men by praying for them, reading stories to them, and listening to their issues. Clara soon recognized that her calling was to be beside the men on the battlefield and help them throughout the war.…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    WW1 produced incredibly difficult challenges for doctors, surgeons, and nurses. With the war going on, old and new medical problems were presenting themselves. Things like amputations, trench foot, trench mouth, and influenza in large amounts caused problems for doctors and nurses. Finding wartime treatments led to new medical practices. An important technique discovered during the war was debridement.…

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    task a unit 208

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Carrying out emergency first aid: you may not know the correct way to do something and could cause more harm.…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Clara was first known for founding the American Red Cross. She was also the first woman to work for the US Patent Office, as well as being the first woman to receive the same income as her male coworkers. However, when the war came around Clara stepped away from her position to tend to wounded soldiers. Clara declined any salary or pay whatsoever for tending to the sick and injured soldiers of the war. Gale, Cengage Learning informs us that, “Previously, it was unprecedented for women to be on the front-line, but Barton eventually became so trusted that she worked exclusively on battlefields for much of her career.” Mrs. Clara Barton soon became known as the “Angel of the Battlefield” and was eventually made Superintendent of the Union nurses. Barton witnessed sixteen different battle fields and so inclined her to encourage the United States to adopt the Red Cross model she has seen when working for the US Patent Office. And ultimately, she pushed it far enough that they passed the patent for American Red Cross because of Clara…

    • 1711 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Explain why it is important for emergency first aid tasks only to be carried out by qualified first…

    • 1764 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Founder of the National First Aid Association of America: emphasized basic first aid instruction, emergency preparedness, and the development of first aid kits.” These improvements made it easier to get what the injured needed as fast as possible, to ease away the agony of war and wounds.…

    • 1077 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The appointed person(s) by the head are qualified to administer first aid to casualties. The responsibilities of the appointed person(s) are:…

    • 2081 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    On April 12, 1861 in Fort Sumter, SC Confederate troops fired the first shots of the Four Year American Civil War. After the first few battles were fought, both sides faced the realization of how they desperately needed doctors and nurses to care for the injured soldiers. (1) The first nurses were recuperating soldiers (rebel) however; their own illnesses prevented them from providing proper care or returning to full military duties. These soldiers resented being appointed hospital duty. (2)…

    • 2511 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    A. The most important thing to remember while performing first aid is that you and the victim are safe. You do not want to put yourself or the victim in any more danger.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Clara Barton's Courage

    • 2224 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Francis, Dorothy Brenner. Clara Barton: Founder of the American Red Cross. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook, 2002. Print.…

    • 2224 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rn Research Paper

    • 2256 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The first roots to the modern nursing can be traced back to Florence Nightingale (Career As a Registered Nurse (RN),6). She has inspired numerous people around the world and was considered a heroine in her time. Nightingale was highly educated and would travel through Europe looking at hospitals trying to educate the staff on better patient care and hygiene. She then served as a nurse for the British government tending to ill and injured soldiers during the Crimean War. Nightingale started the first modern, formal nursing school in 1860, naming it the Nightingale School, after herself. Nightingale is said to have created the healthcare model that we follow today, which treats the patient as an individual instead of a disease. (Career As a Registered Nurse (RN),6). This paved the way for other nurses to step up and make nursing a better field to work in. In the United States, Clara Barton cared for soldiers in the Civil War that were fighting for both the North and the South. Clara Barton later developed the American Red Cross. (Career As a Registered Nurse (RN),7). Developments such as these lead to the first nursing school in the US opening. It was opened by the Bellevue Hospital in New York. (Career As a Registered Nurse (RN),7). This helped girls across the country gain insight into the field of nursing which in turn created new schools and new opportunities for people to join the field.…

    • 2256 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ambulance, police or emergency rescue services (as a first aider, I should always stay with the casualty and send someone else to call for help if possible)…

    • 3950 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Paediatric Emergency 1st Aid

    • 3399 Words
    • 14 Pages

    First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care past the first aid intervention. It generally consists of a series of simple and in some cases, potentially life-saving techniques that an individual can be trained to perform with minimal equipment.…

    • 3399 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Until 1870’s, nursing care in the United States was provided by concerned individuals- usually- women- who applied their practical knowledge of healing to the sick and injured people. Licensed Practical Nurses played a vital role in the treatment and care of thousands of soldiers…

    • 1526 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    A Breakthrough

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages

    During the Civil War, doctors were often forced to improvise with prescriptions, anesthesia, and amputations to save the lives of severely wounded soldiers. Even though medical decisions during the Civil war were gruesome and often pointless, and advanced our medical knowledge today. Civil war amputations, diseases, and disposal of the dead were some of the gruesome components of the time period, but it has advanced our medical knowledge today.…

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Best Essays

Related Topics