Required

• Employers who require first aid and CPR training often include day cares, educational non-profits such as the Boys and Girls Club, aquatic facilities and water parks, workers in residential care facilities, flight attendants, or any position that places an employee in direct contact with groups of people. Many employers require a first aid and CPR certification course to be completed within ninety days of employment, and cards verifying certification must be presented to the employer.
  
  

Optional

• Many people opt to take a first aid or CPR course of their own accord. Often, these individuals have children, work as a private babysitter, plan to go outdoor camping trips in the near future, or simply want to be prepared to respond quickly and effectively in an emergency situation. There is no law that requires a person trained or untrained in first aid and CPR to attend a victim in an emergency situation, but often, even knowing how to safely pull a victim from water, administer pumps to a person's heart, or how to bandage a wound are simple but critical acts that can make the difference in whether a victim lives or dies.
  
  

First Aid

• First aid training is a broad category that can encompass basic first aid, aquatic first aid, CPR, as well as other emergency response skills. In a basic first aid training, students will typically learn how to utilize the contents of a standard first aid kit, such as alcohol pads, gauze strips, tongue depressors, and band aids. One of the most common lessons in a first aid course is how to stop a wound from bleeding. The instruction for this includes administering pressure to a wound and elevating the wound to slow the bleeding. Gauze should be applied as an artificial scab, and should be layered until the blood ceases to penetrate the fabric. Other first aid techniques taught in training may include splinting bones that are potentially broken, aiding a choking victim, and aiding a victim in an accident where as little movement as possible should be inflicted on the victim to prevent further injury.
  
  

Water

• Water safety training is another section of first aid that often requires trainees to participate in in-pool practice and demonstrations. Water safety training includes precautionary instruction, such as pool fencing laws and recommended child flotation devices, as well as techniques for quick retrieval of a drowning victim. Pool training is often conducted by pairing participants to simulate an emergency situation where one partner must safely retrieve and remove the "victim" from the water where CPR could be administered and the body stabilized.
  
  

CPR

• CPR training is a hands on workshop that often involves a class instruction setting and practice with a specialized CPR mannequin. Typically led by a red cross employee or volunteer, or a certified life guard or emergency services respondent, trainees will be instructed on the mechanics of the human heart and how CPR works to continue sending oxygen and electrical impulses throughout the body so that the brain isn't damaged or killed by suffocation. Automatic external defibrillator machines are introduced with the simple, step-by-step instructions covered so trainees will know how to quickly apply and utilize the portable devices should they become necessary in an real emergency. Students are also taught and then receive practice on administering CPR through chest compression and artificial breathing for a victim.