A reader sent in this question:
Hi I’m a new den leader of a webelos den. And I was wondering about how long I should spend on the first responder requirement. I have a parent who’s trying to tell me it can be done in a 1 hr trip to our local fire station. I’m thinking it should take about 5 meetings or a good the better part of a Saturday. Thank you for your time
Thanks for your question! It could probably be done in one meeting at a fire station if they were willing to help. You could do these five requirements to complete the achievement:
- Requirement 1 – Explain what first aid is. Tell what you should do after an accident
- Requirement 2- Show what to do for hurry cases of first aid: serious bleeding, heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest, stopped breathing, stroke, poisoning.
- Requirement 3 – Show how to help a choking victim.
- Requirement 4 -Show how to treat for shock
- Requirement 8 – Visit with a first responder or health-care professional
But trying to accomplish that in one hour would be very rushed. I would probably break this into a visit and a meeting to allow more time. And maybe do the first aid kit (req 6) and or the readiness plan (req 7) instead of doing all first aid demonstrations. It depends on the group and their attention span.
On the other hand, five meetings seems like a lot. These kids are not old enough to be certified for CPR or learn advanced techniques. Keep it simple and they will retain more.
Readers, what do you think? Add your comments below.
Since the meeting plans for this adventure span three meetings, including the EMS visit, I would follow that plan carefully. The Den Leader Guides are your friend with all the adventures.
We are currently doing this requirement with our den. My scouts have a very limited attention span and I wouldn’t think I could get it done in one meeting. I would coordinate ahead of time with the first responders so they have an idea of what you need to talk about.
We were able to finish it in 3 meetings. I feel like it’s an important part of being a scout and I wanted to make sure that my scouts actually knew what to do and not just go through it to get it done.
We meet for one hour for our den meetings.