The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) state that the 1 day Emergency First Aid at Work and the 3 day First Aid at Work qualifications are valid for three years and must be renewed after this period. The HSE also strongly recommends that every first aider attend an annual first aid refresher course.
When a first aider has completed their training a good percentage of the knowledge gained will be retained and the level of confidence that person feels about delivering first aid will be good. The first aider will gain a certificate and hold the qualification for three years, however does that mean that they will retain all of the information that they have received?
The problem is we do not remember everything forever and information can become distorted and this will reduce the level of confidence that we have in that information. Kendar Cherry a psychology expert states that:
“One possible explanation for retrieval failure is known as decay theory. According to this theory, a memory trace is created every time a new theory is formed. Decay theory suggests that over time, these memory traces begin to fade and disappear. If information is not retrieved and rehearsed, it will eventually be lost.” (About.com, 2015)
The ‘decay theory’ suggests that when information is not regularly revisited it starts to disappear from our memory and only a very small amount of information may remain. In order for someone to be able to access the information in it’s entirety it needs to be revisited and a first aid refresher course with a first aid instructor would serve this purpose and prevent information being lost.
Cherry also states that:
“Another theory known as interference theory suggests that some memories compete and interfere with other memories. When information is very similar to other information that was previously stored in memory, interference is more likely to occur.” (About.com, 2015)
Interference theory refers to the fact that information can become distorted over time if we have new memories that are similar. For example, if someone talks about first aid with the incorrect information and you cannot fully remember what you were taught then you may now store the most recent memory as the correct information.
When an emergency occurs there are many reasons why a trained first aider may not provide first aid including:
- Cannot remember what they were taught
- Do not feel confident/doubt their abilities
- Do not want to make the situation worse
- Do not want to receive a complaint
- The situation is distressing and they are panicking
All of these reasons are regularly mentioned at the start of the courses that I deliver when I ask if everyone feels competent and confident to deliver first aid and if not, why not.
If someone receives the correct information about delivering first aid on a regular basis then they will be much more likely to quickly recall the correct information, which will greatly increase the chances of that person being able to deliver effective first aid in a timely manner.
In addition to a first aid refresher course, the discussion of first aid scenarios, information, skills and emergency plans should be common within the workplace so that everyone knows the role that they can play during an emergency, promoting teamwork and better outcomes for injuries and illnesses that occur at work.
First Aid Confidence provides a first aid refresher course and it can be delivered in-house or at an alternative venue. If you would like to discuss your training requirements then please get in touch.