First Aid Training Certifications
Nigerians believe that foreign first aid training certifications are best and to an extent I can agree until we set our own standards in Nigeria.
First Aid Training is a professional service and there must be rules and regulations guiding the delivery such that those that hold the certificates are deemed competent to handle life and death situations according to the training certificates they hold.
At First Aid by Levande, we follow the UK standard as Nigeria generally follows their educational system.
The 4 Methods of First Aid Training Certification
These are the methods of certification in the UK, which First Aid by Levande follows:
- Membership of an Awarding Organisation e.g. Qualsafe Awards, Highfield Qualifications Ltd etc
- Voluntary Ambulance Service e.g. Red Cross, St. John’s Ambulance etc.
- Membership of a First Aid Industry Body e.g. FAIB
- The Independent Training Provider e.g. Levande Healthcare
So, Whose Certificates Should You Get?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) stopped being involved in monitoring FAW (First at Work) trainings in 2013.
They instead, placed responsibility of due diligence on the employer or customer to ensure the training received was appropriate and credible.
Whose Certificate is Best?
First of all, there is no best. Read more about each of these methods of certification here.
I have mentioned many times before why it may not be a good idea to go with the foreign certifications:
You have to teach exactly what they say with no deviations.
This can’t work in Nigeria with our emergency services infrastructure still a work-in-progress, our peculiar health beliefs and cultural practises which would not be addressed.
It is expensive.
To become a training or registered centre with Awarding Organizations or Trade bodies, there are costs. Do you know they have to visit the centre physically twice or more a year at the training centre’s expense? Not including annual costs, certificate costs etc which will add up and be borne by the customer.
At Levande Healthcare, our hope is to help set the standard of what first aid training should be in Nigeria for Nigerians. Though the technical aspects would be up to date and follow the latest guidelines, it should reflect teachings for living and saving lives in Lagos, Onitsha, Lokoja or Maiduguri. 🙂
We should believe in us (Nigerians), we should trust us. After all if an accident happened in Nigeria, the care would be in Nigeria so why can’t we teach the prevention or management of it. We save lives here every day in clinics, hospitals etc., we can also train and teach.
We understand that ‘international certificates” improve your confidence but can you pay for it?
I had a zoom meeting with a top awarding organization last month and there was no doubt about my trainer credentials, the issue was that there were a few things to set up which we don’t do in Nigeria and they had to fly in to see everything!
Also, I had an email exchange with the Managing Director of a First Aid Trade Body and this is what he wrote, “The problem I have is that how do I monitor your standards when you are so far away.”
We can set our standards in Nigeria on Trainers & Trainings. Not just memberships or organizations but rules and regulations that are monitored and rewarded which would give Nigerians confidence in our certificates. I look forward to this.
Need a first aid training for certification? See all our available trainings. You can also find our contact details here.
Dr. Oluwatosin Osikoya is the Founder of Levande Healthcare Company. With over 24 years in the healthcare industry, she lives by the adages “Prevention is better than cure” and “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail“. She has been training on First Aid since 2016.
Email: tosin(at)firstaidbylevande.com.ng
