ProCPR Blog

Videos on ProCPR.org are now Subtitled

Paul Martin — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:28:16 +0000

A while back we made a decision that we would begin work on subtitling our videos so that people could still take advantage of our training even if they cannot hear, or use sound. It is a pretty big project, but one that we’re looking forward to applying to all of our programs in the future.

The captions are complete on the training videos found on ProCPR.org.

To activate the captions, simply click on the CC button in the lower right corner of the video.

And here’s what the captions look like when activated:

February 21, 2012 -- Police Officer saves Woman with CPR
January 24, 2012 -- Bill would require students to perform hands-on CPR
November 2, 2011 -- What’s the Best Beat to do CPR by?
October 14, 2011 -- Canadian ER Docs call CPR a Moral Obligation for Bystanders ‘whether trained or not’
September 28, 2011 -- Behavioral Health Providers Seeking Online Provider Solutions for Certification and Workplace Trainings

Student CPR launches successfully, bringing Free CPR training to High School Students

Paul Martin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 22:00:49 +0000

A few years ago, we had an idea: bring CPR training into high schools at a price they can afford. We feel we’ve accomplished that, and there are a number of schools that have started using the program. We’re very excited about what we’ve seen so far.

Learn More at School CPR and Student CPR

January 24, 2012 -- Bill would require students to perform hands-on CPR
January 18, 2012 -- New Year’s Resolutions at ProTrainings
December 20, 2011 -- Add ProTrainings on Google+, Twitter or Facebook
October 14, 2011 -- Canadian ER Docs call CPR a Moral Obligation for Bystanders ‘whether trained or not’
August 18, 2011 -- CPR Learned in School Saves Lives

Police Officer saves Woman with CPR

Paul Martin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:14:58 +0000

At 2:30 in the morning, 72-year-old grandmother Sonja Hutchison decided to wake up her daughter, Billee Foster. “I had just woke up, and I hurt so bad,” said Hutchison. A quick online search revealed that her mother had classic symptoms of a heart attack. “I said, ‘I think I’m going to call 911′, and she said, ‘Why?’ and I said ‘I think you’re having a heart attack,’” said Foster.

Police Officer Josh Dreher arrived in less than two minutes, and was standing next to Hutchison when her heart stopped. “She died right in front of me,” said Dreher.

But Dreher is also a certified EMT and a CPR instructor for the American Heart Association. “If you can start CPR within 5 minutes of cardiac arrest, your chances of survival increase significantly,” he said.

He performed chest compression on Hutchison until firefighters arrived, and together, they brought her back to life.

Monday, for the first time since that night, she met the man who saved her life. “I am so glad to know you!” she said to Dreher. “I’m glad you’re with us today,” he replied with a big smile. “Thanks to you, sir. Thanks to you,” she said, hugging him. Hutchison called him her 7-foot guardian angel, but he assured her he is only six-foot-four and he was just doing his job. Still, he says seeing her alive is his greatest reward.

“It’s really emotional for me,” Dreher said. “It’s very comforting that what we do actually is effective in saving people’s lives.”

“Without him, I wouldn’t be here,” Hutchison said. “I wouldn’t get to be grandma. I wouldn’t still be mom. He saved me.”

Hutchison will be released tomorrow from North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley. Dreher said Hutchison’s family did the right thing by immediately calling 911.

“Heart disease is the #1 killer of women,” said Dreher.

-via

September 21, 2011 -- Fan at Notre Dame football game saved by quick use of CPR and AED
July 21, 2011 -- Grandma rescues Toddler thanks to Alert from Child with Downs Syndrome
June 22, 2011 -- Dad learns CPR and saves Son only 11 days later
June 10, 2011 -- Man saves Puppy with CPR
April 7, 2010 -- “We don’t know how to do CPR. Please help us!” 911 Call

Bill would require students to perform hands-on CPR

Paul Martin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:44:48 +0000

When it comes to CPR training, people always think of the hands-on training that folks are required to do the first time they take CPR.

Hands-on skills practice is a good thing, which is why we have Blended CPR. CPR isn’t brain surgery, but most folks feel more comfortable if they’ve practiced doing the physical motor skills training on dummies that don’t ever really feel like what it does when you’re actually performing CPR on a real person.

Now a proposal has passed the Senate that would require Hands-on CPR practice in high school resuscitation programs.

The measure sponsored by Republican Sen. Jim Tracy of Shelbyville was approved 31-0 on Monday. The companion bill is still awaiting a vote in the House Education Committee.

Instead of just requiring instruction in the techniques and skills associated with CPR, the proposal would require “students learn the techniques and practice the psychomotor skills associated with performing CPR.”

-via

To bring CPR to your high school, check out StudentCPR.com

October 14, 2011 -- Canadian ER Docs call CPR a Moral Obligation for Bystanders ‘whether trained or not’
February 3, 2011 -- Become a CPR Skill Evaluator with ProCPR
April 12, 2012 -- Videos on ProCPR.org are now Subtitled
March 30, 2012 -- Student CPR launches successfully, bringing Free CPR training to High School Students
February 21, 2012 -- Police Officer saves Woman with CPR

New Year’s Resolutions at ProTrainings

Scott — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:40:19 +0000

This past year has been busy over at the ProTrainings offices. Thanks to you, we were able to train and certify more than 84,000 people this year alone. With the beginning of a new year, we wanted to take a look back at 2011 and let you know what is being planned for 2012. We would also like to offer you the opportunity to make your voice heard by responding to our survey and letting us know what you would like to see us build this year. We care about your feedback and will read every suggestion we receive.

Website enhancements

The programming team has been especially busy. Some of the top, new features that were added this past year include: subtitles for the ProCPR program, allowing you to read along if it is too noisy to hear or for those who are hearing impaired; a mobile version of the website, which is more convenient for signing up and watching videos; and a redesigned training and test experience that are less distracting and help to reinforce learning in the areas you are the weakest. We also listened to your feedback and randomized the test questions, meaning you will never get exactly the same test twice.

Instructor Training Program

This year, ProTrainings officially launched the Instructor training program. This program is for both new and existing CPR and First Aid instructors who would like to make more money by teaching the ProTrainings curriculum. It has been exciting to welcome nearly 100 new instructors to the team over the past few months. Our instructors can make money through teaching classroom courses and by selling any of our online courses. This commission-based model for online courses is the only one of its kind.

The skill evaluator network, which is what powers our popular Blended CPR programs, has grown to nearly 700 people over the last year. We are grateful to our skill evaluator partners who help make this service possible for our students. We are always looking for new people who are willing to conduct skill evaluations for us as a spare time additional source of income.

New Approvals

As you know, ProTrainings is an independent curriculum provider, which means our team is always diligently seeking out new approvals so your card will be accepted wherever you work. Some of the new approvals we have received this past year include CECBEMS for those in the EMS field, AGD for dentistry professionals, U.S. Coast Guard approval, and many other state department approvals.

Student CPR

An exciting new program that went from concept to reality throughout the course of 2011 is the Student CPR program. The goal of this program is to offer free CPR training for every high school student around the country. The program is being piloted in the West Michigan area, and will be expanding to other areas soon. Please contact us if you would like to help us bring this program to your school district.

Goals for 2012

This year is an opportunity for ProTrainings to do some big things, but we need your help. Think back to the first time you took one of our training courses and how surprised you were that you had never heard of us before. Many of you told co-workers and supervisors about our online programs. In fact, 39% of our students last year came to us because of a friend or co-worker’s recommendation. If you feel you have benefited from using our programs, please continue helping us to spread the word by talking about ProTrainings at work, mentioning us on Facebook, and recommending our group programs to your supervisor.

Plans for this year are to continue developing our mobile websites and hopefully to launch an app in the Apple and Android app stores, making it easier for you to certify whenever and wherever it is most convenient. We will continue developing new training programs based on the feedback we get from you. We also plan to continue growing our instructor and skill evaluator networks to better serve our students.

Thank you for supporting the mission of ProTrainings to bring efficient, quality training to as many people as possible. And thank you for allowing ProTrainings to serve you!

The ProTrainings Team

P.S. Click here to take our survey (and “Like” our Facebook page while you’re there).

P.P.S. On January 18, many websites will be “blacking out” in opposition to two dangerous Internet censorship bills (SOPA and PIPA) that are in the U.S. Senate and are in danger of being passed. ProTrainings is on the side of other Internet companies such as Google, Twitter, Mozilla, Wikipedia, and many others in strongly opposing this bill. You can learn more about what you can do to help at www.americancensorship.org.

December 20, 2011 -- Add ProTrainings on Google+, Twitter or Facebook
January 10, 2012 -- Behind the Scenes of the ProTrainings Video Intro
September 2, 2011 -- Customer Support Spotlight – Rex, the King of the Road
February 25, 2010 -- Follow ProCPR on Twitter, Fan on Facebook and More
March 30, 2012 -- Student CPR launches successfully, bringing Free CPR training to High School Students

A List of iPad Apps for Doctors, Patients and Med Students

Paul Martin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:25:37 +0000

The iPad has changed a lot in the world since it was announced nearly two years ago. It’s made it into the education system in many places, and has found its’ way into hospitals as well. We’ve collected some of the best iPad Apps for Doctors, Patients and Med Students. We’ll be expanding this list as we find more applications. Let us know if we’re missing any that you use.

1. Interactive Anatomy

The NOVA Series Collection
Pocket Body
Skeletal System
Visible Body

2. EMH Records

DrChrono
iChart EMR
Nimble EMR

3. Radiology

Mobile MIM

4. Educational

Epocrates

5. Assistive Technology

Proloquo2Go

November 10, 2008 -- Intel’s Health Guide PHS6000 Launches
May 17, 2011 -- Time’s Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2010
December 17, 2009 -- Time’s Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2009
May 6, 2009 -- Med Students: Amazon has announced new Kindle DX. Interested?
February 5, 2009 -- Air Medical Safety Measures

Get the ProCPR Blog on Google Currents

Paul Martin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:47:58 +0000

Want to keep up with us on your mobile device? Google Currents is a news aggregation application that you can get for any Android or iOS devices including any Android phone and most Android tablets. It’s also available on iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. It’s a magazine style reader that you can use to follow your favorite news sources.

We’ve added the ProCPR Blog to Google Currents, so if you search ProCPR, you’ll find it. With this, you can keep up to date with our company and what we’re doing as we continue to improve CPR and other health care related training programs.

We’re currently busy planning our projects for this year, and we have a few pretty big things on the horizon. Keep up with us and stay on the cutting edge with our announcements.

Use this link in your mobile browser, and you’ll be prompted to add the ProCPR Blog to your Google Currents.

ProCPR on Google Currents

More information on Google Currents

December 20, 2011 -- Add ProTrainings on Google+, Twitter or Facebook
January 18, 2012 -- New Year’s Resolutions at ProTrainings
January 10, 2012 -- Behind the Scenes of the ProTrainings Video Intro
September 2, 2011 -- Customer Support Spotlight – Rex, the King of the Road
July 28, 2011 -- New Pro Home Safety Blog

Behind the Scenes of the ProTrainings Video Intro

Paul Martin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:57:53 +0000

Creating the new introduction video for our content was a fun experience, and required the help of a good friend of mine that composes music. It started out as a way to simplify the number of videos that we would need to create.

We have videos that we serve that are unique to different programs that we offer. We also have videos that are required as parts of multiple training programs. We used to have introductions that were particular to the program that people were on. That became a problem when we either had to create a duplicate version of the same video with a different introduction, or we could simply reuse the same video with a different video introduction and confuse people.

What I decided to do was to create a single introduction that could be applied to all of the videos that we create for the company sites. I assembled a couple of versions of the introduction. One runs for six seconds and only plays on the first video of each training course. The other runs only two seconds and appears on the rest of the videos so that it’s there for branding, but doesn’t get in the way.

After I created the graphics, I knew that I would need sound to go with it. I am good at video production, but sound production is not a specialty of mine. I know a number of people that write music, so I went to one of my friends to come up with a soundtrack for each of these intros, a composer named Teddy Blass. What he came up with matched up perfectly with the video content, and gives the video a professional feel that we were looking for. Plus, if you’re on a computer with more bass, you can hear a heartbeat in the background.

January 18, 2012 -- New Year’s Resolutions at ProTrainings
December 20, 2011 -- Add ProTrainings on Google+, Twitter or Facebook
September 2, 2011 -- Customer Support Spotlight – Rex, the King of the Road
February 25, 2010 -- Follow ProCPR on Twitter, Fan on Facebook and More
January 11, 2012 -- Get the ProCPR Blog on Google Currents

CPR in Entertainment: Dumb and Dumber

Paul Martin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:34:01 +0000

Recently someone reminded me of a scene in the movie Dumb and Dumber that featured and attempt at CPR. It’s a pretty classic scene that goes horribly wrong.

In the scene, someone called Mental is holding Harry and Lloyd hostage. They stop to get something to eat, and Harry and Lloyd try a prank which brings about an allergic reaction. They then try to rescue Mental with “CPR.” Or at least their own variation of it.

It starts with Mental having each of the others try these hot peppers. He leaves to make a phone call, and by the time he comes back, the guys have put the peppers on his burger. He has an allergic reaction to the peppers and falls onto the floor. Harry and Lloyd react quickly, pumping his legs in a ridiculous “heimlich” maneuver that isn’t, and then beating him on the chest. One of them tries to give rescue breaths, which Mental stops from happening. Mental does, however, carry pills with him, but he’s left those in the van. Instead, he had rat poison, which he’d intended on using on Harry and Lloyd. They give him the poison, thinking it’s the pills that he needs, and he finally passes out.

Watch the Video (Warning, some strong language. May not be safe for work.)

June 27, 2011 -- CPR in Entertainment: Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
June 21, 2011 -- CPR in Entertainment: Casino Royale
June 6, 2011 -- CPR in Entertainment: The Abyss
May 19, 2011 -- CPR in Entertainment: Xena – Warrior Princess
April 26, 2011 -- CPR in Entertainment: 24 – Season 7 Episode 10

Add ProTrainings on Google+, Twitter or Facebook

Paul Martin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:02:25 +0000

We’re all over the social networks, and we’d like you to join us there. Recently, Google+ added pages for business, and we’ve created a few that we’d like you to add, if you are part of that network. Google+ is a new social network that is kind of a combination of Facebook and Twitter, and includes games such as Angry Birds. It’s only about six or so months old, so it’s much smaller than either Facebook or Twitter. We’re monitoring all three places for your questions, though, so feel free to get in touch with us with them.

ProTrainings

ProTrainings on Facebook
Follow @ProTrainings

ProCPR

ProCPR on Facebook
Follow @ProCPR

ProHomeSafety

ProHomeSafety on Facebook
Follow @ProHomeSafety

Student CPR

StudentCPR on Facebook
Follow @StudentCPR