Having studied for a Master’s degree in Community Development in Australia and living in Switzerland for many years, but Ms. Trang Jena Nguyen, CEO of Survival Skills Vietnam (SSVN)decided to stay long-term in Vietnam to fulfill her dream that there is at least one person who knows proper first aid in every Vietnamese family.
Raise community awareness about the vital role of first aid
Ms. Trang Jena Nguyen shared that SSVN was established in 2014. The purpose of SSVN is to raise awareness of the community about the vital role of first aid and that anyone can do first aid if they are properly educated with the most up-to-date and proven effective knowledge and practice-oriented training.
Chính vì lẽ đó, ngoài các lớp hướng dẫn sơ cấp cứu miễn phí cho cộng đồng định kì, thì SSVN còn có những lớp đào tạo kĩ năng sơ cứu cơ bản theo chuẩn quốc tế có thu phí cho các doanh nghiệp, trường học và cá nhân để trang bị kiến thức cứu mình, cứu người vì một cộng đồng Việt Nam tốt đẹp hơn.
According to Ms. Trang Jena Nguyen, when we know proper first aid knowledge and skills, we will minimize preventable and treatable injuries, reduce the burden on the health sector, and reduce loss for families, and also society.
The biggest wish of Ms. Trang Jena Nguyen and her colleagues is that everyone in Vietnam, from adults to children, from teachers to parents and the students themselves, the caregivers, security guards… all need to know these vital skills which are currently not really focused on in the community.
Ms. Trang Jena Nguyen and paramedic expert Tony Coffey from SSVN instructed students in first aid. Photo: NVCC
Ms. Trang Jena Nguyen said that “Every Vietnamese family has at least one person who knows proper first aid” is my dream and probably anyone’s dream when they understand the importance of first aid. When a person for any reason stops breathing or has a cardiac arrest such as: drowning, choking, being electrocuted, stroke, excessive bleeding… they must get first aid from people around them to help save their brain within the first 3-4 golden minutes, and an additional 4-5 golden minutes to save their heart, their life depends on family members, friends, teachers, colleagues, community, the people around to give proper first aid in the first 7-8 golden minutes. Even if the ambulance arrives early, on average it will take about 15-20 minutes to arrive.”
According to Ms. Trang Jena Nguyen, in severe cases, if first aid is not given properly, effectively and promptly, it may be too late when an ambulance arrives. If their brain and heart are no longer alive, it will be difficult for the medical team to cure them. Therefore, the life of a victim in an emergency depends largely on how the people around give them first aid.
Vietnam becoming a truly safe destination for tourists
In Vietnam, according to statistics, only about 5% of the people in need receive first aid, meaning that up to 95% of them do not receive first aid. Most of them were lifted into the car to the hospital because people either didn’t know how to do first aid so they didn’t dare to do anything, or they did it the way they usually did, which in most cases was lifting, shoving or giving incorrect first aid and that can cause more serious harm to the victim.
Ms. Trang Jena Nguyen and paramedic expert Tony Coffey from SSVN in a basic first aid traning class. Photo: NVCC
Meanwhile, in developed countries such as Australia, Switzerland, Norway… first aid is the kind of knowledge and skills that most students learn from a young age. Children from kindergarten have been taught by teachers how to handle scratches, nosebleeds, and burns. At higher levels, students have clubs and activities related to first aid practice.
When they are old enough to take the driving test for a motorbike or car, they will need a certificate of completion of a basic first aid class to be granted a license. Couples preparing to have children must take a first aid class for newborns. Teachers, security guards, police… are all trained in first aid skills periodically every 12-24 months and will review them according to the law.
Particularly for the tourism industry as well as for tour guides, first aid plays an extremely important role. Imagine if a tourist comes to stay at a hotel and they trip, fall or have a stroke and the staff there do not know proper first aid, the life of the tourist is threatened, and at the same time the brand of that hotel is also affected. Similarly, if a customer chokes or has a serious allergic reaction while eating in a restaurant, on a bus, etc., if the staff or tour guide does not handle it promptly, it can lead to extremely painful consequences.
In Ms. Trang Jena Nguyen’s opinion, a destination must be safe for tourists to return. Even the image of an entire country will be affected if an incident occurs to tourists, while we can completely prevent it and equip our staff with first aid knowledge and skills.
Over the past many years, SSVN has focused on reaching out to a number of tourism units in Vietnam, conducting a number of free first aid training sessions for restaurants, hotels and tour guides… Specifically, SSVN has conducted training classes for staff at many tourist destinations in Da Lat (Lam Dong) and hotels. Intercontinental Hotel Saigon…
According to Ms. Trang Jena Nguyen (right), when we know first aid knowledge and skills, we will minimize preventable and treatable injuries, reduce the burden on the health sector, and reduce loss for family and society. Photo: NVCC
Ms. Trang Jena Nguyen hopes that relevant departments and organizations will have close instructions to make first aid knowledge and skills mandatory for the restaurants, hotel and tourism industries to make Vietnam a truly safe destination for tourists.
According to the plan, in the near future, SSVN will organize a number of free first aid classes for the interested tourism community.
“In the long term, we hope that each component in the tourism industry will equip at least one first aid skills class for its employees. We spend 12 years for fundametal knowledge, 4 years at university, 1-3 years studying for a job, but a first aid class lasts only 8 hours and we don’t have time? What is more precious than our lives and those of our relatives and community?”, Ms. Trang Jena Nguyen confided.
Source: sgtiepthi.vn
