Workplace First Aid & CPR Essentials
First aid and CPR training can save lives and reduce the severity of injuries in any workplace, whether it's a construction site or a cubicle farm.
Medical emergencies can happen anywhere, and it's best to be prepared. This article will go over the basics of administering first aid and CPR in the workplace and the best training to take to learn these skills.
Is First Aid Training Required by OSHA?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is in charge of protecting the health and safety of most U.S. workers from accidents or illnesses in the course of their job.
There are two OSHA standards that are relevant to first aid training. For General Industry (most workplaces), the standard is 29 CFR 1910.151(b). For the construction industry, it's §1926.50(c). In either case, the standard basically says that first aid training is only required for job sites that are not "reasonably accessible" or in "reasonable proximity" to a hospital, physician, infirmary clinic, or emergency medical services.
OSHA is on record that in most workplaces, like offices, a 15-minute response time is considered reasonable. However, for workplaces where serious accidents or incidents could occur, like those involving falls, suffocation, electrocution, or amputation, then medical services must be available within 3-4 minutes.
This effectively makes it mandatory, or at least advisable, for at least one employee per shift to have first aid certification in higher-risk workplaces.
For low-risk urban and suburban workplaces, local medical facilities probably count as "reasonable access." OSHA strongly recommends first aid training but doesn't require it.
A few industries have a different agency that regulates their occupational safety and health. These industries fall outside of OSHA's jurisdiction, so they may have different requirements. For example, the Mining Safety and Health Association (MSHA) requires that at least one first aid/CPR-certified individual be on site whenever the mine is operating.
Does OSHA Consider First Aid Injuries to Be Recordable?
If a workplace injury or illness is adequately resolved with first aid alone, OSHA doesn't require you to document it.
According to OSHA's guidance, for these purposes, first aid includes things like:
- Cleaning minor cuts, scrapes, or scratches
- Treating a minor burn
- Applying bandages and dressings
- Use of non-prescription medication
- Draining blisters
- Removing debris from the eyes
- Massage
- Drinking fluids to relieve heat stress
It doesn't matter who administers the first aid. Even if first aid is administered by a registered nurse, it still falls under the "first aid" umbrella.
What First Aid Skills Do You Need?
Basic first aid courses typically cover skills like the ability to:
- Evaluate people that are injured or ill,
- Identify common injuries and know the limits of first aid care,
- Recognize signs that an injury or illness needs professional evaluation,
- Safely approach anyone with a potential head, neck, and spinal cord injury,
- Control external bleeding, and
- Treat minor burns, cuts, scrapes, and scratches.
Slightly more in-depth first aid courses also cover how to perform CPR and use an automated external defibrillator (AED).
Where Can You Get Online First Aid Training?
As an OSHA-authorized training provider, we have a huge catalog of online courses covering various occupational safety and health topics. Our courses are online and self-paced, so you can take them whenever and wherever you'll learn best.
That includes First Aid I, which covers evaluation and basic care, and First Aid II, which covers more advanced topics like CPR, AED, poisoning, choking, and stroke symptoms.
We also carry an MSHA-approved First Aid and CPR course to meet requirements in the mining industry.
