Scouting, Volume 38, Number 9, November 1950 Page: 20
32 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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M A K
E IT REAL!
Over the years, no skill has received such
attention in Scouting as has first aid. And
well it is. For undoubtedly, one of Scouting's roles
in the civil defense plan will be to assist in first aid
training and practice.
Two things are important in first aid instruction:
identifying symptoms correctly, and carrying out
the proper first aid practices. Of the two, the first
is probably the most difficult to teach. Verbal de-
scriptions of the symptoms of shock, broken bones,
arterial bleeding, etc., are difficult for eleven-year-
olds to visualize and understand, especially when
they have never seen the symptoms (and frequent-
ly, too, when the instructors have never seen them
at first-hand).
In recent years several imaginative Scouters
have collaborated to make first aid real. Work with
theatrical make-up technicians and experienced
doctors, plus hours of experimentation and impro-
vising, has resulted in rather easily learned meth-
ods of simulating various injuries and accidents.
These make-up techniques have been described
in a pamphlet titled "Using Experience Problems to
Teach First Aid." This six-page pamphlet is avail-
able through Local Scout Council offices or from
the Health and Safety Service, B.S.A., 2 Park Ave.,
New York 16, N. Y. Using it, any Scoutmaster
may develop a program of "real" first aid prob-
lems for his Junior Leaders to use with the Troop.
County Fair Method
But there still is a long step from the effec-
tive presentation of first aid problems, to effective
methods of instruction in proper practices. One
excellent way has been termed the "county fair"
method and is ideally adopted for Troop use.
In this method four instruction points are set up,
each manned by a trained instructor and a "make-
up" patient. At point one, the patient may have an
"axe cut" resulting in arterial bleeding. At point
two the patient may have suffered a "severe burn"
on his arm or hand. Another patient may have a
"snake bite" while the fourth has a broken arm or
leg.
These instruction points should be spread out
around the meeting room, school gym, or church
hall, so that the voice of the instructor at each
point will' not conflict with the others.
The Patrols each report to a different instruction
point, where the trained first aider (Junior Leader,
Explorer or Committeeman) shows the symptoms
and demonstrates the first aid techniques re-
quired. The demonstration takes ten minutes, then
the Patrols rotate, going to a different point for
the next ten minutes. In this way, in three-quarters
of an hour, Scouts get adequate instruction in rec-
ognizing symptoms and first aid for four different
injuries. The following week, four more may be
I. To simulate 1st, 2d, and 3rd degree burns, apply red grease
paint evenly; darken part with black marking crayon. 2. Over
darkened portion, spread layer of liquid adhesive. Allow to dry
until it becomes transparent.
3. While adhesive dries, make blisters by holding lighted candle
two inches above hand. 4. To show burned skin and broken blis-
ters, loosen dried adhesive with dull point.
The Make-Up Job Completed
taught, etc., until all first aid for Second and First
Class has been covered.
Exactly the same technique may be used to
"test" Scouts in first aid. Half a dozen or more Ex-
plorers (previously trained and "made-up") may
be placed around in realistic situations. Patrols
may then move from one to the other, diagnosing
symptoms and performing first aid.
Both of these methods — simulated injuries, and
county fair way of teaching — have been tried
and tested. They seem to be the best methods of
teaching first aid to Scouts. Get the previously
mentioned pamphlet. Try it. You'll find it's inter-
esting and effective, and perhaps an ideal live dem-
onstration for Scout Week which comes along soon.
20
SCOUTING
BOY SCOUT SECTION
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 38, Number 9, November 1950, periodical, November 1950; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth313168/m1/22/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.