What is a BLS certification and how exactly is it important to everyday life situations? The American Heart Association created the term and declared the meaning as “Basic Life Support.” The more familiar term we hear most often is CPR, and these two medical acronyms can be used in conjunction with each other. Both CPR and BLS are the basic chest compressions and breath techniques used to save the life of a person that has become unconscious and unresponsive.
It should be the job of every person to take the proactive approach and complete a BLS certification course, however, many professions in the United States including San Diego already require employees to undergo training, even ones not in a traditional medical field. Here are the top jobs in San Diego that consider knowing BLS a necessity:
- Nurses And Doctors.
Of course, all employees in and entering the medical profession are required to know and become certified in BLS. Just because a hospital setting will have all of the newest technology, BLS, or CPR, is still sometimes the most effective way to save a life.
- Dentists And Dental Assistants.
Although seeing the dentist for an annual cleaning doesn’t seem very life threatening, you just never know when someone could suffer from a lack of oxygen to the brain, or may react negatively to medication.
- Medical Technicians.
Many medical technicians are sent to assist during emergency situations and this is exactly why they are required to complete a BLS certification. For many people who have suffered from a Cardiac Arrest, the main reason why they are alive today was the few seconds and minutes of CPR performed by a close bystander.
- CNAs
Certified Nursing Assistants work as the aid to a Registered Nurse and are required to obtain a BLS certification. San Diego nurses are very busy and constantly traveling from room to room helping multiple patients and cannot always be present or quickly come to the aid of a patient.
- Fire Fighters.
Many times, the cause of unconsciousness in a person is due to the smoke from being trapped in a burning building, and BLS is crucial to these exact situations.
Drowning can happen to anyone at anytime and is the leading cause of death in children. Lifeguards are present on many public beaches and pools in San Diego and a BLS certification is required of them to quickly and effectively help an unresponsive swimmer.
Emergency situations can happen at any time, any place and to anyone. Every person, no matter their job, has the chance to become a hero for a day and provide CPR to an unresponsive person and potentially save their life. The professions listed above are taking the proactive approach to ensuring their employees and communities are a safer place.
Sources:
- ProCPR: http://www.procpr.org/en/articles/needs-bls-certification
- CPR Richmond: http://cprrichmond.com/CPR_BLS_required_Jobs.html
- CPR Certification HQ: http://www.cprcertificationonlinehq.com/10-jobs-professions-require-get-cpr-certification/
- AHA: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/CPRAndECC/HealthcareProviders/BasicLifeSupportBLS/Basic-Life-Support-BLS_UCM_001281_SubHomePage.jsp
