Behind the whiteboard... 

Not everyone needs a first aid certificate. Sometimes, you just need to know what to do. That is where our First Aid Basics course fits. For people attending one of our public courses in either Christchurch, Rangiora, Hanmer or Kaikōura, First Aid Basics covers the same core first aid information as our Foundation First Aid course. But without the assessments required for a national qualification. You still learn all the practical stuff. CPR. Choking. Bleeding. Medical emerge

Following on from last week’s blog about the changes coming to first aid standards, this week I’m getting a little more under the hood. The course names are staying the same, the minimum training hours are staying the same, but some of the NZQA numbers are changing. And, as with most things involving qualifications frameworks, the numbers sound more mysterious than they really are. So here’s what NZQA levels and credits actually mean, and what the changes do, and do not, tell

Truth is, I’m one of those annoying people who stops to check on people in the street. I asked the woman curled up in child’s pose on the beach if she was okay. I stopped to check on the man sleeping in a doorway. I saw a man leaning against a tree as I drove past and thought something looked a bit off. I pulled over suddenly just as he collapsed to the ground. I notice stuff that's a bit odd. I’m not afraid to step in, and I know I can help or get help if needed. And it anno