First aid project - treating common injuries in the laboratory.

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First aid project

Common injuries in laboratories and the action to take:

Heat burns and scalds- 1. Lay down the injured person, making sure the burn/ scald does not come into contact with the ground.

2. Cool down the burn/scald with cold water (do this for around 10 minutes) 3. Remove clothing, rings, belts and anything around the burn, as the burn will start to swell 4. Cover the burn with a dressing. Make sure it is sterile so the burn does not get infected. 5. Call the emergency service, and whilst waiting make sure the casualty is breathing properly and monitor their pulse regularly.

Do not try to treat the burn/scald with any creams or oils

Chemical burns- 1. Take the injured person away from place where the accident happened to reduce potential risk to yourself 2. Remove any clothing that has chemical on it and take off anything else which has come into contact with the chemical 3. Wash the chemical burn with cold water for at least 20 minutes 4.Apply a cold, wet cloth to the burn 5. After all of the chemical is washed away and the burn is   not painful, cover the it with a sterile dressing.

 Injury from breathing in fumes or swallowing chemicals- 1. Make sure the casualty is able to breathe and, if necessary, clear their airway. Check their pulse and begin CPR if necessary, but do not give mouth to mouth so as to not put yourself at risk 2. Do not make the casualty throw up, unless the Poison Control tells you to do so. 3. If the person does throw up clear their airway, but wrap a cloth around your fingers first so that you will not get chemicals on your skin 4.Whilst waiting for medical help, make sure the person is comfortable, by rolling them onto their left side 5. If the chemical has spilled onto their clothes, remove them and wash the skin which came into contact with the chemical with cool water

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 Electric Shock- 1. Take the victim away from the source of energy, but make sure that you do not come into contact with the source of electricity 2. Turn off the source of electricity 3. Make sure the person is breathing, and begin CPR if it is necessary

4. Raise the victim’s legs and make sure the victim’s head is lower than his body

5. Put a blanket over the victim to keep him warm 6. Call the emergency service

Cuts and damage to eyes from particles or chemicals        ...

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The candidate has shown good spelling and grammar throughout, and the instructions are fairly easy to follow. However, the numbered instructions would be easier to read if they were on separate lines, and the headings are not very clear - perhaps a different font colour and size would solve this. The images used are not particularly useful - it would have been better to replace the image of test tubes with a diagram showing how to do CPR or put someone in the recovery position, for example. However, the electric shock warning sign is probably quite useful as it grabs the first aiders attention to warn them about a risk. The candidate has ended with a list of sources which were used to create the instructions. This is very important to avoid plagiarism and credit the original writers for their work. They could potentially have improved their referencing by including wikipedia-style '[1]' notes in the text itself, however in this particular example these would have interrupted the instructions and potentially confused the first aider, so are probably not necessary. They have ended the coursework with a short paragraph seemingly trying to persuade the reader to do a first aid course. Although a first aid course would help in the case of a casualty, it would have been better to include this paragraph in a more conventional position - before the list of references - so it is more likely to be seen.

The instructions clearly set out, with no ambiguity, what to do in each situation. They mention how to minimise the risks to the first aider - 'wrap a cloth around your fingers first so that you will not get chemicals on your skin' - which is very important to include, as the most important thing in such a situation is to prevent anyone else, including the first aider, getting harmed. However, occasionally they have shown a lack of thought in their analysis of a situation, for example suggesting the first aider 'takes the victim away from the source of energy' i.e. touch the person being electrocuted, before turning off the electricity supply! They have also instructed the first aider to call the emergency services in every situation, when an ambulance is not really required for a small scald. It would have been better to give information about how to categorise injuries depending upon how serious they really are and so describe which injuries require specialist medical attention, and those which would heal fine on their own. They have also mentioned what to avoid doing - 'do not try to treat the burn/ scald with any creams/ oils' - which is very important to prevent the first aider doing the wrong thing due to a misconception as to what one should do in the situation.

The candidate has written a fairly detailed yet easy to follow list of instructions telling people what to do in common laboratory casualty situations. They have occasionally given reasoning for the actions, such as telling them to ensure the dressing is sterile 'so the burn does not get infected', which gives the first aider useful information and reminds them of the importance of following the instructions exactly.