What are the skills required to be a good first aider? How can you choose a good first aider to keep your office or workplace safe?

These are difficult questions for people responsible for choosing who becomes a first aider.

Here’s our summary of the qualities required to be a good first aider.

Our team think that a good first aider should possess more than just practical skills. A key skill in first aid is being able to communicate with people in distress and taking control of an emergency situation. 

Personal Skills

• Teamworking
• Work co-operatively with others
• Take prompt and effective action to assist others
• Personal responsibility
• Act with confidence in emergency medical situations
• Take action to resolve unanticipated situations

Knowledge and understanding

• Knowledge of key lifesaving first aid skills
• Confidence to perform practical first aid skills
• Limitations and risks of applying first aid to others
• How to recognise and respond to danger and risks when dealing with patients

Teamwork & leadership

• Ability to show leadership in an emergency situation
• Work co-operatively with others
• Take prompt and effective action to assist others

 Communication

• Communicate effectively with other first aiders and medical staff
• Demonstrate empathy when communicating with patients
• Show effective listening skills
• Give a concise, accurate handover to medical staff

Do you have a skill to add to this list? Please leave a comment below!