WOOHOO! I'M CPR CERTIFIED!

I had to wake up super early today because it was the day of our BLS certification. BLS stands for Basic Life Support so the training consist of learning how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). The walk to the training area was really long but it was all worth it. 

Some basic rules when doing CPR are: Compress at 100 times per minute. Make compression about two inches deep. And Give two breaths to victim every 30 compressions. When you are using an AED just turn it on first and it will usually give you instructions. But of course the class teaches us addition things such as put the pads on before plugging it in and stand clear when the shock is administered. We also learned how to perform BLS for children and infant. After the course we all took a written test along with the BLS test. I passed on my first attempt while my partner had to go back for a re-do. I got a card with my name on it and it's to show that I'm certified. It expires in two years so I will have to go for a renewal when the time comes.  Since I was part of the second group, by the time we got back to the Commons lunch was pretty much over.

For our afternoon class we had another awesome lecturer. Her name is Dr. Sharin Barkin and she is a pediatrician. She also talked about obesity because that is the theme of our course. Her view on it was entirely different and I really loved it. She related obesity to human behaviors and their environment rather than with unhealthy eating and lack of exercise. She started a program that research how different factors affects childhood obesity and how to prevent the problem before it starts. She found out that many children are inactive because of the large amount of stray dogs in their neighborhood more than anything else. I always love it when someone approaches a problem with a different point of view and Dr. Barkin definitely did that. After her lecture we spend the rest of the class reading an article on health care. I have only gotten to the middle but it talks about this hospital in Texas that spend an outrageous amount of money to treat each patient yet their patients aren't the healthiest. We will be discussing the article in class tomorrow.

After class I had my origami class. Since it's close to the end of the week, the instructor prepares us for our arete showcase. I volunteered to make an origami Labrador Retriever but that was unsuccessful, instead I made a boat. Since I spend all of my class time and free time attempting to make a dog, dinner came before I knew it. We had another SOFT night and it was really fun. Instead of going out I stayed in for the Disney Princess Movie Spa. I was only there for the movies and it was good to know that there are people who is as obsessed with The Little Mermaid as I am, actually even more.

The day ended with another one of our nightly proctor group meetings. I am so tired from all the fun and learning that I have had. Time to get some shut eye.