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From: jsdy@hadron.UUCP (Joseph S. D. Yao)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: CPR as portrayed on TV.
Message-ID: <264@hadron.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 17-Feb-86 13:16:38 EST
Article-I.D.: hadron.264
Posted: Mon Feb 17 13:16:38 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 19-Feb-86 07:30:43 EST
References: <122@ascvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: jsdy@hadron.UUCP (Joseph S. D. Yao)
Distribution: na
Organization: Hadron, Inc., Fairfax, VA
Lines: 29
Summary: hear, hear!

In article <122@ascvax.UUCP> jan@ascvax.UUCP (Jan Woellhaf) writes:
>You cannot learn correct CPR from watching TV shows or from reading CPR
>manuals.  Therefore, I urge all those who have not already done so to enroll
>in a CPR course.  Please take the longest course available.  This will give
>you more time to practice correct CPR on a mannequin, and this is by far the
>most important aspect of any CPR course.

Hear, hear!  With all due respect to NBC-TV's attempts to help, I must
agree.  (In the NBC series, one learned from TV -- at 5 AM (???) --
and then came in, practiced, and got certified for the half-course.)
I'd recommend at least the 9-12 hour _lecture_ CPR/Basic Life Support
class taught by both the American Heart Association and the American
Red Cross.  There are trivial differences between the two.  They
should include discussion of anatomy, of prevention and risk factors,
of first aid for heart attacks that do not cause cardiac arest, and
of the problems you might face as a potential rescuer, as well as the
purely technical skills for CPR, AR, and first aid for choking.  The
ARC Modular course, unless supplemented, only covers the technical
skills.

As for TV, I have twice seen CPR done correctly.  (This is amazing,
because I don't watch TV regularly.)  Once was on Barney Miller, by
a guy who was jailed with a CPR Annie (mannequin) whom he called his
girl friend; and once was on M*A*S*H -- where it was done as was best
known for the 1950's!  (This may not be confused with doing it
correctly today.)
-- 

	Joe Yao		hadron!jsdy@seismo.{CSS.GOV,ARPA,UUCP}