Singapore International Water Festival

This first-aid duty was for the eve of the Singapore International Water Festival, organised by Singapore Polytechnic and Public Utilities Board. It is an annual event that has been held for 4 consecutive years.

This year, the highlight of the festival is the Raft Race, whereby secondary and tertiary students build their rafts out of recycled material and row down a short course. They are judged based on innovation, creativity, and functionality.

I reported at 1pm and was released at 4.30pm. There were no casualties. The Department of Student Development calls for first-aiders to be on standby just in case something happens.

First Aid on Wheels 1

First Aid on Wheels at East Coast Park is a regular weekly initiative by Singapore Red Cross.
volunteers set up a First Aid post at section C of East Coast Park every weekend to provide first aid to bikers, rollerbladers, anyone who happens to need it.

the team consists of 2 roving teams, each on a route in either direction, and a stay-in team at the post.
we each took turns to be part of the roving teams, and stayed in the post as well.

majority of the casualty counts that day were abrasions and minor scratches, with no one needing to be evacuated.

i'm looking forward to participating in this effort again, as i think it is a worthwhile effort, and the members of the public seem to appreciate it as well. while roving, a few bikers peddled alongside us to ask about our duties, and to thank us.

i also received my Singapore Red Cross Passport today. we're supposed to record the days we volunteered for Red Cross duty, as a personal log, and get the team leader in charge for that day to cross-check and sign.

Mabel. 5/5/12.

SB freshman orientation

i reported at the School of Business foyer at 1pm, as the only certified first aider on duty that day.

the freshmen went out for flag day, so i was on standby.

left school at 3pm without the need to attend to any casualties/injuries.

Mabel. 12/4/12.

CPR + AED

on Total Defence Day, our school organised a free CPR + AED course for us to register.

at this 3-hour course, we learnt and practised the basics of CPR + AED, before taking the test.

it was mainly a revision for me, and a refreshment of CPR + AED.

from when i took my SFA till now, a few amendments have been made;

1.) no need to check for pulse

2.) no need to check for blockage of airway

these are the 2 most outstanding changes.

in the end, every person at my station passed the test, and are expected to receive our CPR + AED certificate soon.

Mabel. 15/2/12.

Poly 50

i volunteered as a first aider to be on duty during Singapore Polytechnic's Poly 50 2011.

it is an annual event that sees teams of 5 to 10, running 50 rounds around a route like a relay.

i heard from first aiders who volunteered last year that there were 2 cases of broken bones, and heat injuries are very common.

this year, thankfully there were no serious cases, with majority being minor scrapes and cuts as a result of falling onto the gravel pathway while running.

Mabel.

9/11/11.

Formula 1 Night Race 2011

i am stationed at Pit Zone's Advanced Medical Post (AMP).

DAY 1;

the first case we attended to was a call-out at the stands, a male in his 30s was "not feeling right" after drinking a cup of beer at 5pm in the sun. he was neither dizzy, nauseous, nor had a headache. however, there have been cases where people were allergic to alcohol and had bad reactions, especially when dehydrated, so we have to stay and observe him. in the end, we drove him back to our AMP in the emergency buggy and let him stay there till he got better.

our second unique case was a guy asking for panadol for tooth ache.

the day almost ended with nothing serious, except after we got the stand-down order and was packing up, we received a call out to the suites. a waitress was down with pain in her foot. turns out that she can't stand for long, bought new shoes for work the day before which we tight, and had blood circulation to her feet cut off for the whole day. the doctors diagnosed her with bilateral plantal cramps, but as it was so serious she flinched whenever we touched he legs, and could not stand on her own, we recommended her to be evacuated to the hospital, yet her mother told her to go home, so we sent her on a buggy out.

while we were tending to her, a tipsy patron jumped from second floor of the suits onto a patrol buggy as the staircase gate was closed. intoxication is to be handled by security, but we put the stretcher and neck brace on standby just in case. he landed fine.

on the way home, i lost my pass.


DAY 2;

other than giving out the usual plasters to ladies with heels, and the doctors issuing panadols (especially to staff during the afternoon sun), the day was pretty much uneventful.


DAY 3;

the Formula 1 race ended with Vettel from Red Bull winning. the moment Vettel stepped out of his car to give a victory pose, fireworks were set off. less than 100m away from my AMP was where they were launched, so my fellow first-aiders, doctors, and nurses all stood up to watch it.

BEAUTIFUL. we had the best view of all.

orders to stand-down were given at around 11pm, as the races ended early, so being issued an all-zone pass, we could walk anywhere we wanted after we were off-duty.

as we were about to head to Zone 4 Padang to catch the last half and final performance of Linkin Park, a call came in about a lady bleeding from her feet. it sounded serious so we took the emergency buggy there, but when we reached, it just turned out to be a surface wound when she ripped off her plaster too fast.

we spent the next hour drenching her foot with saline to remove the zinc oxide plaster, and rebandaging both feet for her.

by the time we ended, it was already 1am, so we took the last public transport back.


the Formula 1 Grand Prix Night Race 2011 was an enriching experience, and i would like to volunteer again next year.



Mabel.
23-25/9/11.

International Sports Challenge

dates i volunteered: 22/7/11, 29/7/11. both fridays.

this was an event organised by Singapore Polytechnic's International Student Club.

the purpose of the event is to encourage friendship and sportsmanship through a series of sports games.

each team goes through a challenge of basketball and soccer, among 2 more other games.

as a first-aid volunteer, my duty is just to ensure that whoever gets injured during the events receive proper first-aid, and subsequent medical attention if necessary.

the first day went by smoothly. the only injury was a bleeding pimple.

the second day went by without any accidents, even though the players were rougher than before. the only thing i attended to was foot cramps.

Mabel.

MMA session 3

today's MMA session was a rather exciting one.

as usual, we learnt more holds, and how to break our falls using our arms.

the holds were a little too awkward for the other 2 girls and i to do, so we skipped out on those, and practiced the breaks more.

after trying many times, we only got it after someone threw us down.

a rather scary yet effective way to learn.

at this MMA session, i had to apply standard first-aid onto a fellow trainee.

as boys will always be boys, they were fooling around the impact-absorbing mat, and decided to do double chokeslams onto each other.

the person who wanted to be chokeslammed was a scrawny year 1, with weak arteries.

halfway during the chokeslam, the pressure in his brain was too high and he blacked out. about 30cm before he hit the mat, his nasal artery burst and started spewing blood.

i immediately went to retrieve my first-aid kit and stemmed the bleeding.

he was fine and conscious, and the bleeding stopped after about 2 minutes 35 seconds.

i cleaned the cut with an alcohol pad and sealed it with a plaster.

less than 15 minutes after that, he was up and wanting to train again.

i have not seen such enthusiasm for training before, and it made me want to master the holds and chokes we learnt in the previous sessions.

during this incident, the vice-president of our club came up to me and appointed me as the club first-aider. so i no longer have to pay fees, and i get an errand boy to buy whatever i need in the first-aid box for the club.

xD~! MMA is fun!

Mabel.

22/7/11.

PT 2 & Ropework 2

B.O.A.T training starts at 8pm, and ends at 10pm on thursdays.

today, Onion Rings, the food group i'm in decided to meet an hour earlier to buy ingredients necessary for our food dishes for the outdoor cooking competition on sunday.

for PT, we climbed a 40-storey building 3 times, with a 5kg load.

my bag was about 4.3kg, just short by 700g.

after climbing 40 storeys a few times, i'm more or less used to the turning and altitude by now. however, with a bag, there was a new challenge.

during the second round, around the 7th floor, my back felt like it was on fire. i had to switch methods of carrying my haversack many times to cool down my back.

for ropework, we learnt how to tie a clove hitch, and the 'short-cut' method too.

i have also officially received my certification card from Raffles Medical for Standard First Aid today.

Mabel.

24/3/11.

Standard First Aid. day 2 of 2. 20/2/11.

As of today, i have completed the Standard First Aid course, and passed. Within the next 4 weeks, a card will be issued to me, certifying me as a trained first-aider. It will be issued by Raffles Medical, and is valid for 3 years.

We were taught skills like bandaging, how to stop bleeding, clearing the airway, treating poison, stings, among others, and of course, Compressed Pulmonary Resusitation.

What seperated our course far from being a mundane one, was our instructor, Ms Li Lian. She kept questioning our answers, throwing our assumptions/deductions off balance, and re-enacting real-life scenarios with us. This happened especially during the theory test and practical examination.

Instead of just testing us individually on the procedures, etc, she assigned us into random groups, limited our options by creating obstacles, chaos, and of course, sudden casualties.

the scenario;

4 casualties on the road, an old man, a potential spine fracture, a pregnant lady, and a female child. in my group of 5, 2 of us were restricted to touching the victims, etc.

halfway through, Ms Li Lian started wailing extremely loudly, and approaching the "bodies", begging us to save her family, shaking them, putting them, us, and herself in more danger.

in the end, we had to work with 5 casualties, with her fainting, no longer breathing, puking, etc.

I really want to thank her for giving us a more in-depth view of a real accident scene, where in most cases, we may be the only first-aider, with multiple casualties, and distraught family/friends that may not only hinder our life-saving attempts, but also cause more danger.

Mabel.

20/2/11.

Standard First Aid. day 1 of 2. 19/2/11.

Today, i went for the first day of a 2-day First Aid course.

I am taking it along with about 15 other fellow BOATers, as part of the BOAT programme.

It was conducted by Ms Li Lian, an instructor who had been a paramedic for many years, working 12-hour shifts daily on the front line, saving lives.

On weekdays, she attends classes after work. on weekends, she dedicates her time, from 9am-6pm, volunteering as an instructor for first aid.

Ms Li Lian taught us a lot of practical skills to be used on the scene of casualty, and shared much of her personal experience with us.

We would feel her passion for saving people as she spoke to us about how she was in an accident in her younger days, how each life matters, and even when there is not much hope left, or doctors declare it a bad case, as trained life-savers, we should still go all out into preserving the person's life.

Other than what was written in the notes given to us, she went further in depth into explaining the rational behind each and every single movement, and re-enacted it out herself, so we could have a better understanding of an actual incident happening, the risks of each movement, what should be done, and possible outcomes.

Much of her sharings would never have been spoken about by other trainers, even if they had first-hand experience. Many BOATers and i felt it was essential and puts us at a great advantage above other first-aid trained people.

This is especially so, as we would be taking on various physical challenges, inevitable risks, and unmediated danger in the course of our BOAT programme.

Today was a great learning experience, and tomorrow, we would be taking both a theory and a practical test.

At the end of this course, those who passed will be issued a card which certifies us as being trained in first-aid. It is valid for 3 years.

Mabel.

19/2/11.