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INUVIK
The halls of East 3 School became a little safer Dec. 6 after a group of students completed their First Aid certification.

Red Cross First Aid instructor Patricia Davison instructs students on what to do if a person gets impaled by an object, during a course at the fire hall on Dec. 6. - Miranda Scotland/NNSL photo

The course is being offered by the high school to all youth in grades 7, 8 and 9 as part of the Dene Kede and Inuuquatigiit curriculums.

Vice-principal Chris Gilmour said he and another faculty member wanted to introduce the program to youth to help keep them safe while they're at school, out on the land or just hanging around town.

"We saw the direct line with the curriculum ... and also with how it would be reflected in our activities on the land," Gilmour said.

The cost of the class is being covered by ConocoPhillips while the Inuvik fire department is paying for the course books. So far the Grade 7 students have completed the training, and, in the new year, students in grades 8 and 9 will take the course.

Red Cross First Aid instructor Patricia Davison said she thinks the project is a great idea.

"It's extremely important for anybody to have this knowledge. The more people that have this knowledge then, of course, the stronger the community is," Davison said, adding a First Aid certification is also great to put on a resume. "It gives the students so many skills and these are the kind of skills that employers are looking for as well."

Davison taught the Grade 7 participants how to care for someone who is having a heart attack, choking or bleeding from a wound, among other medical emergencies. She instructed them to follow three steps: first, survey the area before assisting someone in need; second, call emergency services; finally, care for the person to the best of your ability.

"We did a lot of scenarios where we were just walking down the streets of Inuvik or walking to our friend's house or this just kind of happens in front of us; what would we do? The reality is we never know when something is going to go wrong, and it can happen in any aspect of our lives," Davison said.

The topic of prevention was also addressed. Davison said she talked about how to care for one's body in order to avoid a medical emergency, such as a stroke or cardiac arrest.

Grade 7 student Janine-Marie Bonnetplume said the course was really worthwhile and feels she would be prepared to help if an emergency situation arose at any time. The class was a lot of fun, she added.

"I liked when I had to act out choking," Bonnetplume said. "It was awesome. I loved it."

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