Dennis,
Thank you for the repartee'. I learned alot by trying to prove my point
(this certainly was not on the top of my head). Good and fervent discussion is one of the spices of life!
The CDC and "powers to be" publish certain guidlines and statistics that are passed on to EMS, LEO's, RN's etc... and these folks are then expected to train the public. Their goal is to sell medical personal, and the public, on the dangers of diseases. Certain statistics are emphasized that will "sensationalize" their cause- IMHO. Paranoia, to a certain extent, is probably healthy in order to keep health professionals alert and minimize the exposure & personal risk. To lose a single EMT or LEO in the line of duty is always tragic. Therefore we all have been trained to view every contact as extremely dangerous(rightfully so?). This keeps the professinals using universal precautions and joe public using rubbers- this saves alot of lives.
In defense of this training is that medicine is complicated and at times the experts don't agree, so the message is generally simplified. Also the CDC does publish pretty complete statistics, just that at times you have to look for them and have the background to put it in perspective. Also keep in mind that people acquire, and die from, disease every day. I hope my post will not relax your guard. There is danger. Make an informed decision.
This training can be counterproductive in the case of CPR and the general public. You have been taught a certain way to keep you "safe". Again the professionals risk and exposure over a career is significant, much different from a single contact by joe public. Therefore all of those hours spent training you to be carefull(plus your considerable experience), greatly outweigh one sentence in the instructors manual about there being a "small risk by CPR"- and usually they only talk about HIV. Any rational person would view this with a certain amount of skepticism.
I am sure you do an admirable job of teaching, and you are to be commended for your effort and time. You are performing as any rational being(sounds like much better actually) in your position would. IMHO- the "powers that be" have brought this on themselves. It is no wonder that only ~50%(I think) of the time does a bystander perform CPR to help.
I would enjoy an email, and your right we should return TFL to others
. This entire post is obviously only my personal opinion.
Best regards,
Olazul