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Nervous about taking CPR class?
I know this question may seem really, really pathetic, but I work as a Residential Support Staff, taking care of adults with developmental disabilities. One of my job requirements is I have to take a CPR/First Aid class through the Red Cross. Problem is, I'm extremely nervous about the CPR part. I hate getting up in front of people and having everyone watch my every move. How do these classes work (I know not every class will be the same) but kind of a run down on how things go. Do you work in partners on the dummy, or do the dreaded get up in front of the whole class and do it? Like I said, this probably seems really silly and you're probably laughing.. but I'm serious. Any insight would be great! Thanks!
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I've taken 3 CPR and/or First Aid classes in college so I think I probably have a decent understanding of how these work.
You will get over the nervousness. Trust me. What you need to realize is that NOBODY in that classroom doesn't want to get get up in front of everyone. Nobody wants to stand up and practice CPR on a dummy in front of the entire class.
Mine were all with very nice instructors. We practiced with AND without partners in all three of the classes throughout the course. Everything was in front of the entire classroom of people.
I only had one where we did our final CPR session alone with the instructor. I have to say, that is probably the worst thing because they are solely focused on you. There are no distractions for them to turn away from you or move their eyes from your dummy victim. I really was sweating bullets during that one.
I'm a fairly shy person. I don't like to get in front of the class. Chances are, you will absolutely have to CPR a dummy (with and without a partner) in front of the rest of the class. Every time I ever did this--everyone in the room was quiet. Nobody laughed or giggled at my mistakes. As a matter of fact, there was the odd time that someone whispered some help to me rather than mocking my inability to rescue said dummy victim.
Relax and just go with the flow. It's all worth it in the end. Doing this in front of a class helps you to build confidence. How are you going to perform on a REAL victim if you cannot even do it in front of people, right? It helps you to get settled into things. You learn to focus not on everyone around you but the dummy/victim you're trying to CPR.
Take your time and focus on the information and not the fact that you'll have to practice on a dummy in front of people. In a real life setting you won't get to choose if there will be people around or not. Having to do this in front of a class is wonderful for building up your confidence in achieving success.
Just like everyone else in the classroom, I'm not laughing. Nobody in the class is going to laugh at you if you mess up or forget a lot. Nobody will be studying your every move except the instructor--and, even then, the only thing they really want to do is help you to learn and be able to save lives. They know it isn't a laughing matter and so does the rest of the class. No reason to be embarrassed.
It's worth it all in the end.
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