Practise It
for Real
Learn the first steps of first aid and why a certified course matters, build healthy habits for sleep, movement and food, find your way around Alberta’s health system, keep your home safe from poisoning and injury, and explore health careers and how to train for them. General information, not medical advice.
- 00First Principlesp.2
- 01First aidp.4
- 02Healthy habitsp.5
- 03Alberta’s health systemp.6
- 04Home safetyp.7
- 05Health careersp.8
- ✦Self-check · Make it · 5 Questions · Side Questp.9
You'll need: a sturdy box or bag, first-aid supplies (see p.7), an index card, a pen and an adult partner.
Principles
A first principle is a basic truth you can build on. Practising medicine for real rests on four: in an emergency, call for help first, small daily habits add up, know where to go before you need it and health needs many kinds of people.
What do I already know?
What is necessary?
Everything in this module is built from four bricks. Rate yourself on each one, then check the example to see if your rating holds up.
What is the objective?
By the end, you’ll be able to describe the first steps in an emergency and why a certified course matters, use Canada’s movement guidelines and food guide, choose the right place in Alberta’s health system for a need, keep a home safe from poisoning, and describe health careers and how to train for them.
- 01Use check, call, care.
- 02Know what an AED is.
- 03State the sleep guideline.
- 04Choose 811, a clinic or 911.
- 05Store medicines safely.
- 06Name 5 health careers.
The list on the left is ours. Now make it yours. What do you want out of this?
How much do you know about practising medicine for real right now? Shade the boxes in pencil. You'll come back at the end (p.9) and shade it again in pen.
Why start this way? When you know what you already have (1), what you need (2) and where you're going (3), you learn faster and you notice the gaps. Every module on the Medicine Path starts with these same three questions.
First aid
In an emergency, get help first, then care.
Check, call, care
- Check the scene is safe, then check the person: are they awake and breathing?
- Call 911 (or get someone to) and ask for an AED, a device that can restart a heart.
- Care: follow the 911 call-taker’s instructions until help arrives.
Take a real course
For an adult who isn’t breathing normally, trained bystanders push hard and fast in the centre of the chest, about 100 to 120 times a minute. An AED talks you through its steps.
Learn properly in a certified course (St. John Ambulance, the Canadian Red Cross, the Lifesaving Society, Heart & Stroke and others). Never practise compressions on a person.
The law
Alberta’s Emergency Medical Aid Act protects people who give emergency first aid in good faith from being sued, unless they are grossly negligent. It doesn’t force you to help, but calling 911 is something anyone can do.
- Why is calling 911 the most important first step?
- Which first-aid course could you take, and when?
Emergency script
Write what you would say to a 911 call-taker: your exact location, what happened, and how the person is doing. Practise saying it aloud with an adult (don’t call 911 to practise).What does an AED do?
Healthy habits
Guidelines help build healthy daily habits.
Ages 5 to 17
| Habit | Guideline |
|---|---|
| Moving | At least 60 min a day of moderate to vigorous activity |
| Sleep, 5–13 | 9 to 11 hours |
| Sleep, 14–17 | 8 to 10 hours |
| Screens | No more than 2 hours of recreational screen time |
A plate, not a diet
- Fill half your plate with vegetables and fruit.
- A quarter with whole grains, a quarter with protein foods.
- Make water your drink of choice.
- Cook more often and eat with others when you can.
Bodies come in many healthy shapes and sizes.
Small steps
Nobody meets every guideline every day. Small changes, like a walk after dinner or putting the phone away 30 minutes before bed, add up. If you have a health condition, a health professional can help adapt the guidelines.
- Which guideline is hardest for you, and why?
- What small habit could your family change together?
Habit tracker
For one week, track your sleep hours, active minutes and recreational screen time. Compare them with the guidelines. Choose one small change and try it for another week.How much sleep is recommended for ages 14 to 17?
Alberta’s health system
Knowing where to go saves time and worry.
The right place
| Need | Where |
|---|---|
| A question about symptoms | Health Link: call 811, 24/7 |
| Ongoing care, check-ups | Family doctor or nurse practitioner |
| Medicine questions, minor ailments | Pharmacist |
| Can’t wait, not life-threatening | Walk-in clinic or urgent care |
| Life-threatening emergency | Call 911 or go to an emergency department |
Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan
Eligible Albertans get a personal health number and card. It covers needed doctor and hospital care. Many people pay for, or have insurance for, dental care, eye care and prescriptions.
Alberta is reorganizing its health system into new agencies; check alberta.ca for the latest.
Call 911
Call 911 for trouble breathing, chest pain, severe bleeding, signs of a stroke (face drooping, arm weakness, speech problems), a seizure, someone who won’t wake up, or a serious injury. When in doubt about an emergency, call.
- When would you call 811 instead of going to a clinic?
- Why do emergency departments get busy with non-emergencies?
Map your help
With an adult, find your nearest pharmacy, walk-in clinic, urgent care and emergency department. Write their addresses and hours on a card with 811 and 911.Who do you call in Alberta for a health question that isn’t an emergency?
Home safety
Most poisonings and injuries at home can be prevented.
What to include
- Adhesive bandages, gauze pads and tape.
- A pair of clean gloves and tweezers.
- An elastic bandage and a cold pack.
- A first-aid guide and a list of emergency numbers.
- Ask a pharmacist what else your family needs.
Medicines: lock them up, out of reach of children. Return old or unused medicines to a pharmacy, not the toilet or garbage. Never take someone else’s medicine.
Poisons: keep cleaners in their own containers, and never mix bleach with ammonia or other cleaners. Poison questions: PADIS, 1-800-332-1414, 24/7. If someone is very sick or won’t wake up, call 911.
Concussions
A concussion is a brain injury that can happen in sport or a fall. Signs include headache, dizziness, confusion and feeling “off.” Anyone with a possible concussion should stop playing and get checked. Helmets reduce risks in many sports.
- What’s one change that would make your home safer?
- Why return old medicines to a pharmacy?
Safety walk
With an adult, walk through your home. Check where medicines, cleaners and sharp tools are stored. List 3 changes that would make it safer for a toddler visiting.Where should unused medicines go?
Health careers
Health care needs many kinds of people.
Many paths
| Career | Typical training in Alberta |
|---|---|
| Health care aide | Certificate (months) |
| Paramedic | Certificate or diploma; registered |
| Licensed practical nurse | 2-year diploma |
| Registered nurse | 4-year degree |
| Medical lab technologist | Diploma (e.g. NAIT, SAIT) |
| Pharmacist | University degree (PharmD) |
| Physician | Degree, medical school, then residency |
From now to a career
- Take science and math through high school; Biology 30 and Chemistry 30 are often needed.
- Volunteer, job-shadow, or try a health-careers camp.
- Look up each job on ALIS (alis.alberta.ca), Alberta’s career website.
Check entry rules with the schools themselves.
Recording your work
If you are home-schooled, this book’s activities can be part of your learning plan, and dated work (printouts are dated automatically) can be kept as samples. Talk with your facilitator or school authority about how it fits Alberta’s programs, including CALM.
- Which health career would suit you, and why?
- Which school subjects help in health jobs?
Career profile
Choose 2 health careers on ALIS. Compare training, pay range and what a day looks like. With an adult’s help, ask someone in one of the jobs 3 questions.Which Alberta website has career profiles?
Quick self-check
Six questions, covering every stop. Show your thinking. Answers are upside down at the bottom; no peeking till you're done.
1 · What are the 3 steps of first aid?
2 · What protects people who help in an emergency in Alberta?
3 · How much activity is recommended each day for ages 5 to 17?
4 · Who do you call for a health question in Alberta?
5 · What is PADIS?
6 · Name 3 health careers.
Re-shade your knowledge meter
How much do you know about practising medicine for real now? Flip back to p.3 and shade the meter again in pen (or shade this one). Did any of the four bricks on p.2 move from "Not yet" to "Got it"?
Build a family safety kit
Is your home ready?
1 · Plan
With an adult, check or build a home first-aid kit using p.7. Then make a family emergency card: your address, 911, 811, PADIS (1-800-332-1414), an adult’s phone number and the nearest emergency department. Show everyone in your home where both are kept.
- Adult partner
- Kit checked
- Card filled in
- Everyone knows where
2 · Kit check
| Item | Have it? |
|---|---|
| Bandages and gauze | |
| Gloves and tweezers | |
| Cold pack | |
| First-aid guide | |
| Emergency card |
3 · Must-haves
- Nothing expired
- Medicines locked up
- A course to take
- One skill taught
4 · What I found
Don’t add or handle medicines without an adult. Keep the kit out of reach of small children. A kit and card aren’t training: sign up for a certified first-aid course to learn the skills.
5 Questions
I Still Have
This module didn't answer everything. Good. Write 5 new questions it didn't answer, one of each type below. There are no wrong questions, only ones nobody's asked yet.
★ Star the one question you'd most like answered. You'll need it on the next page.
1What I'll find out
Break your big question into 2 or 3 smaller ones you could actually answer.
2Where I'll look
3How I'll share it
Who I'll share it with:
Done by: