HLTH 57A
HEALTH 57A is the De Anza College class to learn first aid and for optional certification in American Red Cross first aid.
I have had many students who take this class before they enroll in the EMT class at Foothill, and they tell me it made their E.M.T. class much easier.
Likewise you will learn skills you must know to pass a Red Cross lifeguard class.
The class also includes earthquake preparedness, wilderness first aid skills and an introduction to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillation for Professional Rescuers and Health Care Providers (CPR/AED Pro).
The class usually meets (choose one: Fall, Winter or Spring quarter), for only four class sessions, usually on Friday afternoons. We finish before finals week and have no finals week final.
Find the current schedule of classes at: http://www.deanza.edu/schedule/
Information is at: http://marydonahue.org/health-57a
The page includes all the homework assignments, course syllabus (green sheet), map to find the classroom. There is no textbook to buy.
Many of the students in my first aid classes, either just first aid, or first aid included in lifeguard training, have had “facts” they were sure about on how to give first aid, or how injuries occur, that are totally untrue. We go over them and people are often surprised. Take a look at the First Aid Facts and Fallacies homework assignment at the class webpage http://marydonahue.org/health-57a
Some of the reading includes: Wilderness first aid outline
The Wilderness Medical Society defines wilderness as any situation when you are “more than one hour away from definitive medical care.” This could be your own home after an earthquake or other disaster as well as camping and backpacking.
Especially in a diverse area such as Silicon Valley, California, everyone anticipating giving first aid should consider that some victims may have very different expectations about how they should be treated and be familiar with some of the cultural differences they may encounter.
Students made these comments on the course evaluation:
"Thank you for all the knowledge and skills. I really enjoyed this class and learnt a lot about dos and don’ts that we do in our everyday life. I am really glad I took this class."
"Mary Donahue is an amazing and passionate teacher! She genuinely cares about helping people and makes it so easy to learn and retain the material. She is definitely an angel for De Anza College!"
"I just wanted you to know I did learn alot :) and will continue to keep learning. I'm trying to get my employers to update the first aid kits at work and get an AED now too :)"