It’s important that every staff member have a part in your Emergency Action Plan. My last article addressed non-aquatic staff and what they can do during a land emergency. Here, I’ll cover how swim and water-fitness instructors can participate within the lifeguard in-service.
Some agencies hire personnel to serve solely as swim or water fitness instructors. These professionals most likely have certification in their specialty and CPR. Review their certification so you have a better understanding of what your instructors can do – is it certification in CPR/AED and First Aid, or CPR for the Professional Rescuer?
In training swim and water-fitness instructors to help with a rescue, I recommend that you cover the following topics:
1. Reaching rescues
2. Throwing rescues
3. Simple assists/rapid extrication of a small person
4. Assisting a lifeguard in extricating a victim (towing a victim)
5. Effective ventilations – pocket mask and BVM
6. CPR – solo rescuer
7. CPR – multi-rescuer
Below you’ll find a plan for each of the seven topics. Each should take up 30 minutes and follow the same progression:
- Trainer demonstration and skill focus
- Skill(s) practice
- Drills/scenarios
1. Reaching Rescues
Demo/skill focus: Review how to use a shepherd’s crook and a reaching pole to aid a drowning victim. Emphasise body position so the rescuer doesn’t lose balance and fall into the water. Demonstrate the hand-over-hand technique and walking back as ways to bring the victim closer to poolside. Demonstrate how to perform a reaching assist with an arm or leg while lying on the ground next to the pool.
Skills practice: Focus on safe rescues and proficiency with the equipment or technique.
Drills/scenarios: Set up two-person teams (one rescuer, on victim). Focus on rescues in deep water, with the rescuers climbing out of the chair and using the shepherd’s crook to perform the rescue. Place the emphasis on climbing out of the tower safely and quickly.
2. Throwing Rescues
Demo/skill focus: Review how to use a rescue ring buoy for a drowning victim. Emphasize having the ring buoy clear the victim’s shoulder and fall within arm’s reach. Once the victim has grabbed the rescue ring, focus on the rescuer’s body position so they don’t lose balance and fall into the water. Demonstrate the hand-over-hand technique and walking back with the rope as ways to bring the victim closer to poolside.
Skills practice: Focus on aim proficiency with the equipment. Focus on how to effectively and quickly recoil the rope so the rescue ring can be deployed again.
Drills/Scenarios: Have 2-person teams (one rescuer, one victim) focus on rescues in deep water with the rescuers climbing out of the chair and using the rescue ring to perform the rescue. Emphasis on climbing out of the tower safely and quick deployment.
3. Simple Assist/Rapid Extrication of a Small Person
Demo/skill focus: Demonstrate how to do a walking assist of a tired victim, with an emphasis on personal safety. For a shallow water pool, review how to extricate a passive, unconscious small person from the water, and how to place them on side of the pool. The victim should be placed parallel to the side of pool’s edge, which allows the rescuer to perform a rapid assessment and potentially provide ventilations while still in the water.
Skills practice: Focus on quickness and personal safety for the simple assists. For the rapid extrication, emphasize getting the victim’s airway above the surface of the water and placing them gently on the side of the pool. Don’t drop the victim’s head when laying them down.
Drills/scenarios: Form two-person teams (one rescuer, one victim) for simple assists. Utilize a child manikin for the rapid extrication of a small person.
4. Assisting a Lifeguard in Extricating a Victim (Towing a Victim)
Demo/skill focus: Demonstrate how to assist a lifeguard in towing a victim from deep water to shallow. Show how towing can be done by two rescuers. The emphasis should be placed on maintaining the victim’s airway above the surface of the water.
Skills practice: Have the two-person teams synchronize their movement when towing the victim so the movement is efficient and fast.
Drills/scenarios: Form three-person teams (two rescuers, one victim) for towing a victim. Drills should focus on safety and speed.
5. Effective Ventilations – Pocket Mask and BVM
Demo/skill focus: Review pocket mask use for an infant, child, and adult. Go over the differences in providing ventilations from the lateral and cephalic positions. For the BVM: Review the use of a BVM for an infant, child, and adult.
Skills practice: Focus on effective ventilations using both the pocket mask and the BVM. Review ventilation rates for infants, children, and adults. Review the differences in ventilations when it comes to performing a rapid assessment of a victim found on land and a victim pulled from the water.
Drills/scenarios: Direct solo rescuers to provide ventilations on a victim found on land. Once proficient, they can transition to a victim who was pulled from the water. Have two-person teams focus on providing ventilations with a BVM, on both dry and wet victims.
6. Solo Rescuer CPR
Demo/skill focus: Emphasis should be on the differences in CPR for an infant, child, and adult. This should include compression depth, hand placement, opening of the airway, and ventilations.
Skills practice: Focus on effective ventilations and good compressions for infants, children, and adults.
Drills/scenarios: Have two-person teams focus on the transition of solo CPR to multi-rescuer CPR. Start with a solo rescuer who initiates solo CPR for one minute. After one minute, have the second rescuer arrive to assist . Once proficient, repeat and have the second rescuer bring an AED .
7. Multi-rescuer CPR
Demo/skill focus: Place emphasis on the differences in CPR for an infant, child, and adult. This should include compression depth, hand placement, opening of the airway, and ventilations. Review the duties within two-person and three-person teams – who provides compression, who provides ventilation, who calls 911.
Skills practice: Focus on effective ventilations and good compressions for infants, children, and adults.
Drills/scenarios: Have two-person teams focus on both rescuers arriving at the same time to provide CPR. Once they’ve mastered that, have a second rescuer leave to get an AED while the first rescuer provides one minute of solo CPR. When the second rescuer returns with an AED, incorporate it in the victim’s care.
When developing the in-service, ensure that your swim and water-fitness instructors reach a level of confidence and proficiency where their skill level matches that of your lifeguards. Clarify what role they will play in the Emergency Action Plan.
Good luck and keep training.
