What would you do if a member of your family suffered a medical emergency? You could certainly call for trained emergency medical responders, but what would you do while you're waiting for them to arrive?

Every second counts during a medical emergency. Recognizing the early signs and symptoms of common medical conditions and providing appropriate treatment can mean a better outcome for the patient. Early recognition and intervention can greatly reduce the seriousness of the illness, which means a shorter hospital stay and lower medical costs. It's also very satisfying to know how to help someone in a time of need.

This course will identify common medical emergencies affecting children and adults, help you recognize signs and symptoms, and teach you how to render appropriate emergency care. For adults, you will learn how to recognize and manage chest pain, heart attack, stroke, diabetic problems, seizures, breathing difficulty, burns, and allergic reactions. For children, you will also learn about poisoning, fever, childhood illnesses, injuries from accidents, and the signs of abuse.

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Syllabus:

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week One

Wednesday - Lesson 01

Every day, thousands of medical emergencies occur in the United States. In our first lesson, you'll learn what happens when someone dials 911 to report the emergency. You'll see how emergency 911 operators do their jobs, who will respond to the emergency, and what will happen after emergency medical services personnel arrive at the scene. We'll also explore how you can help without exposing yourself to legal liability. Then, we'll start going over the human body so you'll know why your organs work like they do!

Friday - Lesson 02

Today, you'll learn how to make sure you stay safe at the scene of an emergency—from watching out for traffic and identifying hazards, to protecting yourself from transmitted diseases. Then, you'll learn the ABCs of emergency care so you'll know what steps to take in order to help someone in need. Also, you'll see how to take a reading of a patient's respiration and pulse to determine if the heart and lungs are working normally.

Week Two

Wednesday - Lesson 03

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for adults in the USA. In today's lesson, you'll learn what causes heart disease and how you and your family can prevent it from happening to yourselves. We'll discuss angina and heart attacks, and I'll tell you why you may not want your family member to go to the closest hospital if you suspect they may be having heart problems!

Friday - Lesson 04

Would you know what to do if your child suddenly choked on a small toy or piece of food? Today's lesson addresses choking and breathing problems, the leading causes of accidental deaths in children. You'll also learn about asthma, emphysema, pneumonia, and carbon monoxide poisoning. And I'll show you how using everyday household cleaning products might be dangerous!

Week Three

Wednesday - Lesson 05

In this lesson, you'll learn all about the body's master organ—the brain! We'll discuss concussions, head injuries, seizures, and strokes. You'll see how the pupils of the eyes give you important information about brain function, and how to recognize the signs of a stroke, one of the most common events leading to adult disability.

Friday - Lesson 06

Do you know what the largest organ of the body is? Surprise—it's your skin! In today's lesson, we'll go over what happens when you injure your skin—whether you've scraped, cut, torn, punctured, or burned it. We'll also go over how to recognize the signs of bleeding, even if the bleeding is internal and out of your sight. You'll see how to stop all types of bleeding and how to treat all types of burns, including electrical, chemical, thermal, and even severe sunburns!

Week Four

Wednesday - Lesson 07

In today's lesson, you'll learn all about shock . . . not the electrical kind, but the type that prevents oxygen from getting to your body's cells. You'll learn how to recognize and treat shock caused by infections, allergic reactions, bleeding, breathing problems, diabetes, heart problems, spinal injuries, and simple fainting. You'll also see what to look for to determine if an unconscious person has a chronic medical problem, with no one around to tell you about it!

Friday - Lesson 08

Today, we'll go in depth to learn about underlying medical problems such as diabetes, gallstones, hepatitis, appendicitis, and kidney stones. You'll also learn about heat and cold emergencies, from heat exhaustion and heat stroke to frostbite and hypothermia. And you'll find out what's happening if your patient's eyeballs look yellow!

Week Five

Wednesday - Lesson 09

Almost 3 million children are victims of accidental poisoning each year. In this lesson, you'll learn how poisoning occurs—how it gets into a child's body through absorption, inhalation, ingestion, or injection. You'll see why poison control centers have been established throughout the country and how you can reach one using a single phone number. Most important, you'll learn what to do and what not to do before medical help arrives at your house.

Friday - Lesson 10

Today, we'll focus on injuries to the bones and joints. We'll explore fractures, sprains, and strains, as well as how to handle neck and back injuries without causing further harm to your patient. You'll learn how to use common items to make splints to stabilize an arm or leg until help arrives. Then, we'll talk about common sports injuries affecting adults and children. You'll also learn about athletic trainers and the roles they serve in organized team sports.

Week Six

Wednesday - Lesson 11

Children aren't just little adults! In this lesson, you'll learn how children react to injury and illness, and how you can interact with them during the various stages they go through as they grow up. You'll learn the differences in their anatomy as they get bigger, how their vital signs change, and how they're so much more susceptible to shock than adults are. And we'll explore common childhood emergencies such as infection, fever, and seizures. Then, we'll examine the early warning signs of substance abuse among teenagers and talk about a difficult topic—teen suicide and self-injury.

Friday - Lesson 12

In our final lesson, you'll learn about illnesses common to children—croup, epiglottitis, asthma, and meningitis. We'll also explore SIDS—Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and learn why researchers think it occurs and steps you can take to reduce its risk. We'll close by discussing the nationwide problem of child neglect and abuse, how to recognize the signs and symptoms of physical and sexual abuse, and why just one phone call can make a major positive step in an abused child's life!

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Bryan Scyphers.

Bryan Scyphers is a Nationally Registered Paramedic who has provided emergency medical care for over 28 years. A former student trainer for Virginia Tech’s football team and a trainer with the San Francisco Giants baseball organization, he is also experienced in sports medicine. Bryan holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Education, has taught pre-hospital emergency medicine at the college level for many years, and has trained hundreds of Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics. He has responded to over 8,000 calls for medical assistance and is currently a member of the National Disaster Medical System, responding to natural and man-made disasters in the United States. Bryan is also a member of the National Medical Response Team, deployed to render aid to locations threatened by the use of nuclear, biological, or chemical Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Requirements:

Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).

Student Reviews:

"As a stay-at-home Mom, I thoroughly enjoyed this course. I now have plenty of resources at my disposal... and I feel I have really been enlightened. I'll be reading over these lessons multiple times as I have a 4-yr-old and a 5-yr-old. We've also had so many of our elderly family members succumb to many of the emergencies in this course. I now feel confident I can be of help when/if another tragedy strikes. Thank you so much, Bryan, for sharing your expertise with us! I enjoyed reading these lessons. Once again, many, many thanks to you!"

"Best online course I have taken so far. Learned a lot of useful information. Will actually be able to use the knowledge from this course in my life."

"Bryan is a fun, energetic, and creative instructor! The lessons are written in terms that are easy to understand and follow. As a mother of two young children, the information provided is priceless! From taking this course, I have decided to continue my education and become an EMT. I highly recommend this course to anyone who has children, wants some basic medical knowledge, or is considering emergency medicine as a career.Thank you Bryan for offering such a great course!"

"Bryan, thanks so much for offering such a fantastic course. It's been a pleasure."

"Bryan was an excellent instructor...He answered all of my questions promptly and was very helpful. I would recommend this course to my friends. I have learned a great deal and it was worth every penny!"

"Enjoyed the course very much. Very informative with useful examples."

"Excellent class, had a lot of fun completing the assignments. Would definitely recommend this class to anyone wanting to start a new direction in life."

"Great course and a super Instructor. Thanks Bryan. I'd recommend this course to every adult."

"Great course for anyone. It thoroughly covers all medical emergencies. I learned a lot from this class!"

"Great course! I enjoyed it very much, very informative!"

"Great course! I learned a tremendous amount. Bryan is a wonderful instructor."

"Great Course! Would recommend this to everyone. Thank you for providing and teaching this course."

"Handling Medical Emergencies is an excellent course. Mr. Scyphers is very knowledgeable and interesting. He is friendly and happy to help with any questions a student has. The lessons are very well written, interesting and clear. I highly recommend this course."

"I am a stay home Mom of 10 years and am looking to get back into the work force. I think this was a great course to wake up my brain and start me on a track back to a great career in a year or two... Thanks."

"I appreciate the way these courses are organized. Very helpful to those of us who are not so computer savvy. This instructor provided a great deal of helpful and encouraging feedback."

"I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this course, and how much useful information I learned! I feel much better prepared in my home and classroom to handle emergency situations that may arise. As an instructor, I think you did a great job of coming up with good discussion area questions and assignments. I always felt like you were interested in our answers, and I enjoyed answering the assignments. Thanks for making me a safer mom and teacher!"

"I have enjoyed the course thoroughly and feel very confident that, as a teacher, I could handle any medical emergency that comes my way."

"I have gained so much information from the lessons. I was even able to recognize the first sign of my son having an asthma attack. Being able to know what to do and not be afraid but confident makes me feel happy. Thank you for all the knowledge!"

"I have recommended this course to others. I learned more than I expected to and it was easy to understand. Thanks for a great class."

"I have strongly recommended this course to my co-workers that do not have a medical background…This class has definitely fulfilled my goals (know how to help someone while waiting on an ambulance or medical care). This is a large part of what I do in my position. Special thanks to Bryan for making this class so educational."

"I learned a lot of new things that I think will help me in the future. I even learned things that you're supposed to do when I thought you were supposed to do something else. I am very happy that I took this course."

"I loved the course...The instructor and the discussions made it great! I felt like I got to know the instructor just from the time we corresponded in the discussion areas. He was very competent, and so helpful to me. I enjoyed the course very much and have recommended it already! The course was packed full of information and advice. I loved the personal touch added to the lessons, it made me feel free to open up....Great!!! Money well spent!!!"

"I loved the information that I received! The instructor always responded to the discussion area promptly and intelligently."

"I loved this course, I couldn't stop reading once I started and would gladly recommend this course to anyone."

"I loved this course so much that I went out and took a CPR course as suggested by the instructor. I am also enrolling in a first aid course and receiving my certification. Thanks for the assistance."

"Interesting and informative. I liked his style of writing--good sense of humor about a serious subject."

"I really liked the writing style of the instructor. Also, I was impressed with the information that the course provided, & the way it was taught so that the material was easily understood. Even though I am an EMT-B, I thought this course might have some good & helpful information, & I was not disappointed. I would recommend it to my family & friends."

"I think this course was one of the best I have taken. The information it provides is invaluable for all. I would highly recommend it to everyone. I have gained so much insight in handling emergencies. Thank you!"

"I think you are a great instructor. This is my second online course with you. Thanks!"

"I thoroughly enjoyed taking this class. This instructor is on top of his game!"

"I thoroughly enjoyed this course!! I think that the instructor is very knowledgeable in all areas of medical emergencies. I have learned so much valuable information. I made copies of the lessons so that I could have a manual in case I needed help with certain emergency situations. Once again, thanks for the great course!!"

"I thoroughly enjoyed this course. It was both interesting and written in such a way, I couldn't wait to read my assignments. I would recommend this course to others; whether you are interested in the medical field or just for general knowledge. I've certainly learned a lot and have enjoyed doing so. Thank you."

"I thoroughly enjoyed this course. It was so informative. I am a retired English teacher, and I am working on recertification. This course has provided me with so much valuable information about emergencies. I have taken several courses, but this one has been the best yet!! Thanks for making the course so interesting."

"It is obvious that Bryan is extremely knowledgeable in his field. I have taken several healthcare courses and this one has by far been the most informative and relevant for me as a teacher, mother, and ED volunteer."

"Nice job. I learned a lot that will help me as a parent and an educator."

"Not only would I recommend this class, I think it should be mandatory for everyone to take. This professor is the most awesome instructor of education I have yet to meet. I loved every minute of his class. I learned more here than I did while taking CPR and First Aid for over 12 years. I wish he had more classes in my field, I would take every one of them. Thank you so much for this instructor."

"Really enjoyed this online course. I would definitely take another course from this instructor. Great job."

"Thank you Bryan. This was an excellent course. I learned a lot from your class!"

"Thank you for a wonderful and educational class. I know that all the information that I learned will be useful at many points in my life."

"Thank you! I would strongly recommend this course and instructor to others."

"Thank you so much. I have learned a lot, not only for others, but for my family as well."

"The instructor is highly qualified to teach this course, and has organized an excellent, informative course that met my expectations. I would recommend this course to anyone who would like to gain the knowledge and confidence to help your family or others you may encounter who are having a medical emergency."

"The Instructor was very friendly and always made the learning fun. I was always eager to learn more.THANK YOU VERY MUCH."

"The lessons were lively and well-written, and the instructor was very helpful. I enjoyed the course immensely and would recommend it to anyone."

"This class was very informative. I learned a lot without any unnecessary busy work. I would recommend this course to anybody."

"This course provided some excellent material that can be used with your family and in the community. Well done."

"This course was awesome! ALL of the lessons were informative and designed for a student of any level. The chapters and lessons flowed smoothly in order to aid a student in both knowledge and success of learning the information supplied. After reading a lesson I was so confident in how the instructor taught me that I didn't have to refer back to the lesson prior to taking a quiz. I feel much more confident in being able to assist someone in a medical emergency after taking this course!!! The instructor is unbelievable. He has a great sense of humor and I am sorry this course has ended. He is efficient with his responses to any questions and made me want to take another course with him. Thank you very much professor. I give you the grade of A+."

"This course was terrific. I printed up all the lessons and am going to get good use out of them. They will be nice to look back on and re-read. Loved the instructor."

"This course was very helpful, informative, and exciting. I am sure that I would like to continue a formal training in emergency medicine. Thanks!"

"This was a very helpful course. The instructor's lectures were well done. I liked to read about his experiences in the field and how he then related it to the material. This was my first online course and it was enjoyable. Thank you for the years you spent helping people and for the time you now put into these lectures to continue helping people. I firmly believe it takes a different type of person to be able to run into the fight while so many are running from it. Thanks for your service. The course was great. I thought it was way cool how you placed your daughter's photo into the lecture. This gave the topic a very personal touch and reinforced how important children are and how fast things can happen. Thank you again and hopefully I will be able to take another class from you."

"This was a very interesting and useful class. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who wishes to improve their basic first-aid skills."

"This was a very interesting course! I learned a great deal and enjoyed the course too. I know the information learned in this course will be beneficial to me at home and in the classroom."

"This was my first online course, and I have enjoyed it very much. I thought the instructor was very interactive with others. His writing made the classes seem very personal as if I was in a classroom."

"This was my first on-line course. Thank you! It was helpful."

"This was probably the most enjoyable course I have ever taken online - it put alot of "emergency stuff" into perspective for me. I am a RN and had the opportunity to work in the prison system where emergencies could happen at any time. I did not feel prepared for these and thought about becoming an EMT or Paramedic. I will make flashcards from his lesson and probably go on to take the Paramedic course. Thank you."

"This was the best on-line classes I have taken. The instructor was wonderful, and he always took time to make comments in the discussion area. Also, the course material did a great job of pinpointing things that we see almost everyday, and relate to us how to handle those situations."

"This was the first online course I have ever taken. I am very pleased with the course and felt like I have learned a lot."

"Very helpful course, an amazing amount of information."

"What a wonderful course! I learned so much truly useful information...that I hope never to use! :) Thank you. I really enjoyed this course."

"Wonderful course and I enjoyed it and the instructor very much. Have learned a lot. This was the first online course for me and I enjoyed it very much. Instructor has a lot of knowledge and was very helpful in the discussion area."

"Wonderful, life saving information."

"Wow! This was an excellent course. Everyone should take this. It was very informative, yet practical, and well organized."

"Wow! What a great class. I learned so many things that I didn't know and it will be so useful in the future. I really enjoyed the class."

"Your class was excellent. Your material was great, and I plan to keep it for reference. I appreciated your prompt comments in the discussion area. I highly recommend this class!"