Basic Life Support could have saved a life

Traci Sproston, Paramedic and First Aid Trainer

I approved-icon-40pxhave been a Paramedic for 15 years now and love my job. I have been concerned over the years at the lack of First Aid training, there are times where Basic Life Support could have saved a life.

Traci-Sproston
people-icon-40pxBefore joining the Ambulance Service I worked for the railway and had attended various courses, including First Aid, where it was either death by PowerPoint or the trainer was so uninteresting that many people on the course were struggling to keep their eyes open.

My best friend Kay who is also a Paramedic, left the Ambulance Service 3 years ago and started her own business based around the things she loves. She teaches Equestrian First Aid and encouraged me to “have a go” putting me in touch with Nuco Training to book myself on to a course.

I can honestly say this was the best course I have ever been on! It was fun, extremely informative and opened my eyes to a totally different approach to, not only training but teaching. I enjoyed the course that much I wanted to return as a full time student, forever! I have been ecstatically enthusiastic about it ever since and have recently passed on Nuco’s details to friends and colleagues to follow in my footsteps.

I NOW WORK PART-TIME WITH WEST MIDLANDS AMBULANCE SERVICE AS I GROW MY FIRST AID TRAINING COMPANY FIRST TRACE TRAINING LTD”

Following on from my course at Nuco I shadowed Kay delivering one of her courses and soon realised that she had adopted their modern style of training, making the courses so much fun whilst still being very structured and informative. I could see that Kay was gaining the very best results from the delegates purely because they were learning and remembering through engaging practical scenarios. To ensure each step of the training was firmly retained, she used the blended learning tools provided by Nuco to revisit training and again confirm the information.

This is a style I have since adopted myself and the results have been fantastic so far. My company, First Trace Training Ltd delivers First Aid Courses to the Care Sector, training in Care homes, Residential homes and Nursing Homes across the UK. I have recently started a new branch to the business, teaching First Aid to children in schools, after school clubs and other activity clubs such as Scouts, Cubs, Brownies and Guides etc. This is certainly a new challenge for me but I am enjoying every minute. Nuco continue to be a fantastic support to my business and I am able to purchase all my certificates and training manuals from them with my company logo in pride of place. If I am unable to teach a course myself due to other commitments I can call on other experienced Nuco trainers to help me out where necessary, all trained by Nuco Training. The network of instructors is huge and I have made some good friends whilst growing my business.

Previously I had always worked for someone else and never thought I was even capable of running my own business but here I am eighteen months on and I am getting referrals, I see a great future ahead doing something that I love and believe in. The Instructor training and support that was offered by the Training Manager Darren Coombs gave me the inclination and passion for starting up on my own … with no regrets.

INFO

 www.firsttracetraining.co.uk