First-aid worker

A first-aid worker is a person trained with the gestures of the prompt helps, or Secourisme, i.e.:

with the gestures of First aid: rescuer alone and without material;
with the gestures of help in team and with material.

The Inhabitants of Quebec use the term of “first-aid worker” ( First Aider ) for the people who followed successfully a course of first aid in general first aid (16 hours formation, data typically by CS, Quebec Secours, the Organization of the Canadian Patrol of Ski and the Canadian Company of the Red Cross). In Quebec, one uses also the devoted term of “first guarantor” ( first responder in English), for the people who followed 45 hours a more complete formation. The “first guarantor” are often groups of voluntary organized or, this role is assumed by firemen in certain cities. Except for the patrol craft in ski formed by the Organization of the Canadian Patrol of Ski, the “first guarantors” do not transport the patients or the casualties (patients) but this transport is accomplished by the services ambulance men (SMU).

A team of first-aid workers is made up from two to five people, being able to deal with only one seriously injured, or slightly injured (of which the vital Fonctions is not threatened) by first-aid worker.

Contrary to the ancillary medical first-aid workers ( paramedics ), the first-aid workers practice neither medical gestures nor care male nurses, do not manage a drug and do not proceed to invasive gestures.

First-aid workers in France

In France, the majority of the helps to anybody are carried out by the firemen, which are first-aid workers, or in residence by private ambulance men, who are also first-aid workers (although having a longer and more complete formation, the panoply of gestures is the same one). The first-aid workers thus form the “deterrent force” of the health-care system préhospitaliers (in collaboration with the Samu and the Smur S).

In addition, there exists in France a quizaine of associations of first aid (or “associations of Civil security” to take again the terms of the law) which train voluntary first-aid workers with the same diploma (CFAPSE) that firemen, with the same requirement of continuing education (6 hours per annum). These voluntary first-aid workers carry out stations preventive rescues, and constitute a “tank of labor” in the event of Catastrophe, of Emergency plan. Because of the response time (several hours to bring together the teams), they are however seldom affected in first line, but rather with operations of support (management of lodging, logistic management of CUMP, evacuation of the LDC towards the structures of care). In certain departments, and in particular in Paris region, voluntary first-aid workers take part in the public network of help to anybody: a vehicle of voluntary first-aid workers can be sent to the place of a VSAV of the firemen.

To translate for the term “first-aid worker”

The term “first-aid worker” has two significances:

a general significance, nobody who takes part in the helps or anybody which followed a formation to first aid;
a precise significance: nobody formed with the prompt helps and acting as team with material.

In addition to the translation of the concept, there is thus also the problem of the translation of the function, of the qualification level.

Abbreviations

ACLS : advanced cardiac life support
ALS: advanced life support
BCLS: BASIC cardiac life support
BLS: BASIC life support
FC: continuing education
PHTLS: prehospital trauma life support
STAKES: pediatric advanced life support

External bond

Training of the ambulance men of the world, an article of the UNAH France
Official announcement of the setting-up of First Guarantors in Montreal, an article of Quebec Historical Help
of Quebec Help, an article of Quebec Help
Training of the first-aid workers at the French Red Cross

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