Urgent Need to Train Teachers and Students in First Aid and CPR

This article is my reflection about the recent incident that took place in a sports ground in Pondicherry, India where a 17-year-old school boy collapsed and died in the sports ground after running only 80 meters in the 1500 meters race. The cause of death was an underlying cardiac cause that has manifested during the athletic event. The stress caused by intense, excessive exercise can negatively affect the cardiovascular system. If the boy had received the first line of treatment with the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the spot, he may have survived. This incident made me to develop some insights on how to prevent such tragedies by throwing light on the need to prepare our students and teachers who are organisers of such events by providing them training and certification in first aid and CPR so that they can effectively participate as rescuers when faced with such emergency situation to save the life of the concerned. This article also stresses the need for policy measures from the government side to include first aid and CPR as a mandatory subject at all levels of education to teach the next generation of life savers.