First Aid

Tonight we worked on the Guide First Aid Badge and Learn About Safety section of the program, and finished off the Pathfinder Safe at Home or Out and About Module.

The evening started out with 30 minutes of  Patrol Time, and each patrol worked on a different activity:

• Trillium Patrol - " " - brought the supplies to cook an egg in ashes, but hadn't considered that we have no where to light a fire at our meeting place, so they learned how to cook scrambled eggs and clean-up afterwards
• Rose Patrol - "How Fit Are You?" - took a fitness quiz and played active games
• Pansy Patrol - "Bear Necessities" - attempted to build a structure from bamboo poles, string, newspaper, tape and straws that would hold food up off the ground
• Daffodil Patrol - "Date To Dream" - talked about their hopes and dreams for the future, and worked on an article about self-esteem

After tidying up, we had our usual opening followed by a lively game of Everybody's It Tag.

Our first program activity was a discussion about first aid. A number of the girls had learned a bit about first aid either in Brownies or through a course, such as babysitting or staying home alone.

We then played a relay game to test their knowledge of what to do in different situations. Each patrol had a question sheet and had to run up and get the colour-coded answer cards from the opposite end of the room. One person would run up and get a card, then the patrol had to decide which question it answered before going up to get another card. The game was won by the Trillium Patrol, followed by the Rose and Pansy Patrols, who also had all the correct answers.

The next activity was to make personal first aid kits and talk about what each item would be used for. We used pharmacy pill bottles that were washed and had the labels removed - they were even blue! In each kit we put: 2 Q-Tips, 1 sterile gauze pad, 12 inches of paper tape (wrapped around a straw), 1 alcohol wipe, 3 safety pins and 4 bandaids. 

Our final activity was to act our different scenarios. Our Pathfinder and Ranger came up with a set of scenarios and the Guides were divided into pairs and showed the rest of the Unit what to do in different situations.

We closed with Taps, and handed out newsletters and Easter treats as everyone went home.

Downloads

• First Aid Discussion Information
• First Aid Relay Game
• Scenario Sheet 

First Aid Night

Our Safety badge this year was First Aid. This badge is very theory/discussion based and it can be a challenge to get the girls involved.

The First Aid Badge requirements are:

1. Explain why it is important to check the accident area for your own safety before offering help.
2. Explain how to get help, what to do until help arrives and what to do after it arrives.
3. Describe the limitations of a first aider.
4. Describe what to look for when finding an accident victim.
5. Explain the danger of moving a person who has been injured.
6. Demonstrate how to keep a patient comfortable.
7. Tell about the danger of infection.
8. Put together a simple first aid kit and tell why each item was chosen.
9. Demonstrate rescue breathing and how to help someone who is choking.
10. Explain how to treat a nosebleed.

When we talked about what to do if someone is choking we let the Guides practice on a large stuffed animal. We also had the girls form pairs and act out what they would do in different situations (i.e. finding someone who has been injured, keeping someone comfortable, putting someone into the recovery position, helping someone with a nosebleed). We also had each patrol make up a skits showing how to treat a simple injury, based on the list in the Learn About Safety section of the program.

For our first aid kits, we used film cannisters, plastic lacing and beads to make first aid kit lanyards. First, we poked a hole in the lid of the cannister then threaded the ends of the plastic lacing through the hole, then through a pony bead, tying a knot in the ends. Before doing this, if the girls wanted to thread some beads onto the lacing that would show they were able to do that. In the cannisters we put:

• 1 gauze square
• 1 alcohol swab
• 1 large bandaid
• 1 small bandaid
• 6" paper tape
• 1" tube of polysporin
• 1" tube of baking soda