Developing safer communities through flexible learning / St John Ambulance Australia.

Highly commended: 2007 Australian Safer Communities Awards, Projects of national significance, Pre-Disaster category.

St John has implemented a national skills development program for all uniformed volunteer members. Previously new first aid members were trained at the Divisional level with no consistency nationally for this initial training. With over 10,000 volunteer members providing first aid at public events and in emergency situations, it was recognised that developing knowledge and skills is vital to advance St John. A new uniformed volunteer moves through the following steps in their initial skills development program: application (including consent to check details of forms, referees, current first aid certificate), undertake Skills Development Stage 1 ? ?Working Effectively in St John, OH&S and observation at public events?, undertake Skills Development Stage 2 ? ?Skills in event and emergency first aid, medical terminology and working with colleagues, casualties and the public?, and provide treatment at public events. Stage 1 aims to ensure that new members have enough knowledge to answer questions about how St John operates, its history, infection control and occupational health and safety. It is usually completed within three months of joining. Stage 2 takes the new member into medical terminology, working with the public, colleagues and casualties, and event and emergency first aid. At this level they are able to provide supervised first aid at events. Recognising the diverse nature of St John Ambulance members, this program is highly flexible in delivery options. One of the benefits of this flexible delivery is that there is no longer a need to wait until there are enough members to run an individual course