FIRST RESPONSE TRAINING INTERNATIONAL (FRTI) INSTRUCTOR

So, the first question? Who are First Response Training International (FRTI)?

In 2018 International Training Inc (ITI), the parent company of TDI, SDI and ERDI, made  the decision to cease SDI’s CPROX1stAED, CPROX Administrator  and CPR1st Administrator as they were outdated and weren’t in compliance with ITI’s needs.  Furthermore, it wasn’t successful outside of the diving industry.  

ITI was experienced in developing materials and support for instructors conducting several courses in various activities, some practical and technically complex.  ITI took that knowledge and applied it to the outdated and underdone layperson rescuer market in hopes of creating a better and more informed rescuer.  From this FRTI was formed.  FRTI strives to provide the most up to date systems for learning and the best customer service to providers and instructors.

Why FRTI?

Unlike other diving agencies first aid and AED courses, FRTI is the only agency whose courses are 100% International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) compliant.  ILCOR was formed in 1992 to provide a forum for liaison between principal resuscitation organisations worldwide and is comprised from representatives worldwide, including European Resuscitation Council (ERC).

As a first aid instructor with other agencies, FRTI have also managed to produce excellent instructor materials, and although traditional manuals and c cards are available, the entire process (less the practical) can be done online; from student registration, signing standards and procedures, e-learning, and online c-cards.

Examples of the online materials can be found below.

What courses do FRTI offer?

Adult, Child and Infant Emergency Care

Ideal for people wanting to be more prepared, businesses hoping to protect employees, outdoor enthusiasts, babysitters and caregivers, this course is cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), first aid, and automated external defibrillator (AED) use combined into one program. It is designed to teach the techniques to administer CPR, first aid, and utilisean AED in emergency situations involving infants, children, and adults. This comprehensive program is appropriate for workplace training or general knowledge to be better prepared day to day. The CPR and AED components cover the knowledge needed to address one of the largest causes of death in the world. Intervening with this knowledge can possibly save a life. The first aid program reviews common techniques to treat serious emergencies, as well as less serious, more common issues.

Workplace CPR/AED

Ideal for businesses hoping to protect employees, babysitters, care givers etc… this course is cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) course combined into one program. It is designed to teach the proper techniques to safely administer CPR and utilise an AED in emergency situations involving infants, children, and adults. While not addressing first aid measures this course is the perfect way to prepare individuals to address one of the largest killers worldwide. Implementing CPR and AEDs in the event of an emergency can drastically change outcomes for the better.

Child and Infant Emergency Care

Ideal for parents wanting to be more prepared, babysitters, lifeguards, and caregivers, coaches and teachers this course is a cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), first aid, and automated external defibrillator (AED) combined into one program. It is designed to teach the proper techniques to administer CPR, correct first aid, and utilisean AED in emergency situations involving infants and children. Parents, teachers and daycare staff can benefit greatly from the training to save a child’s life in a number of situations. The course materials are the same as Adult and Child Emergency Care however the practical applications are child focused.

Oxygen Administration

Ideal for SCUBA divers, Dive Professionals, skippers and boat staff, this course is intended to teach emergency oxygen (O2) administration. This program covers equipment and procedures for administrating oxygen as an emergency procedure. Equipment selection and use for decompression illness emergencies are detailed with practical components to train a well roundedrescuer.

Bloodborne Pathogens

Generally ran as an add-on to another course, this course Ideal for people wanting to be more prepared, businesses hoping to protect employees, babysitters and caregivers, and is intended to teach users about pathogens that can be encountered through bodily fluids. Designed for workplace use it teaches participants about the hazards, prevention, and solutions for fluid events. This course meets workplace requirements for individuals with a reasonable risk of encountering fluid interactions.

There’s also the scope to add further courses.

Looking at the materials, it is clear that ITI are marketing themselves towards the layperson rescuer as there are no diving photos in their materials, hence the separate agency to market it and the separate website (although the website is based on the same platform as TDI, SDI and ERDI so the feel and look is very similar).

Instructor Crossover

When the courses were announced a number of instructor options were available:

·Gap Training Program for current SDI CPROX1stAED Instructors (SDI CPROX1stAED instructors only and does not cover instructors for CPROX or CPR1st.  It also only covers instructors that are currently in an active status and have taught a CPROX1stAED or equivalent course in the past two years).

·Gap Training for CPROX and CPR1st Instructors (These instructors must go through a complete instructor program).

·Instructors for all Courses That Have Not Taught in Two Years or More (These instructors must take the provider and instructor program.  An equivalent provider level program with another agency can be accepted to fulfil that requirement).

·Instructors with qualifications from other agencies (Contact the training department for equivalencies).  

Based on my current SDI and other agency first aid instructor qualifications I conducted the Gap Training Program on 16 December 2018 at NDAC with Mark Powell of Dive-Tech.  

Adult CPR, O2 administration, First Aid and AED were already covered by existing SDI courses so the crossover primarily covered the following topics to be compliant with the new Adult and Child Emergency Care course; CPR on a child and infant, Choking on an infant, oxygen administration guidelines and bloodborne pathogens.  Furthermore, in addition to the 6 first aid basics (Breathing, Bleeding, Broken, Burns, Bites and Blows) previously covered in the SDI courses, a number of additional concerns were covered; hypothermia, hyperthermia, spinal injuries, electrical injuries, open chest wounds, chest pain, shock, dehydration, poisons, marine stings, convulsions, allergies & stroke, bleeding including the use of tourniquets (which happened to be the same CAT as the military ones I am used to, plus improvised), and neurological assessment for stroke (FAST – Face Arms Speech Time).

The crossover also covered the new website, linking courses, resources required to run the courses, registrations, and student record/performance sheets.

Summary

Overall, I am extremely impressed with the content and materials for the new FRTI courses and when I’m back in the UK I hope to start delivering some soon.

The boring bit!

All opinions expressed in my articles are my own and may differ to other instructor’s and agency guidelines; by no means are they wrong and I would not wish to disrepute any of them.  This article is for information only and should not replace proper training.

Safe diving!

Timothy Gort

BSAC, PADI & SDI/TDI diver training

l Mob: 07968148261 l Email: tim@rectotec.co.uk l