1. The goal is a cpm of 100-120, so teaching a song with a tempo of almost exactly 100 means if someone's a little slow it could dip below 100; using a song that's 120 could have the same problem (if they're a little fast). Therefore we should be aiming for a song around 110 bpm!
2. Young people these days might not be familiar with "Stayin' Alive," which means it's becoming less and less helpful for teaching the tempo of CPR. Therefore we should pick a song with the same relevance (something to do with saving a life) but that people today will remember.
3. What if people (looking at you, Michael Scott) accidentally mistake the 1978 song "I Will Survive" for "Stayin' Alive"? Therefore we should make sure we're not in a sitcom.

Here's our list of songs to replace Stayin' Alive, from worst to best:

Hint: This is a terrible first aid kit...

CPR Breathing Barrier and Gloves It's important to protect yourself, even if you're about to save someone else's life! That's why CPR breathing barriers (AKA microshields) or pocket masks are crucial to have in every emergency kit. Of course you need to make sure you're fully trained in CPR and know exactly how to use your PPE (personal protective equipment). It's also important to practice how you'll perform, so you should learn on the materials and tools you'll use out in the real world. Gloves (when used properly) are excellent at protecting you from infections you might encounter after touching someone or someone's bodily fluids. Put on gloves before you start to do any first aid of any kind! Then be sure to take them off the right way. We can help there! We train teens and adults in how to do CPR and use breathing barriers to protect themselves; it's even easier to learn because we make the training fun! Check out our full set of offerings on our training page!

4" x 4" Gauze Pads This woven fabric helps soak up blood and encourage clotting of cuts and wounds. When you're trying to stop life-threatening bleeding it's important to push hard on the wound until the bleeding stops (which could take 5 minutes or more). Gauze pads come in various sizes and types of packaging, but the 4" squares are usually the best for first aid kits. They're big enough to make a difference with a big cut, but also foldable; you can make smaller gauze pads out of the big gauze pads, or fold them to closely match the shape of a wound. Roller gauze is a LOOOONG roll of (you guessed it) gauze. It's particularly useful for holding squares of gauze in place while maintaining some pressure on the wound. Our Red Cross first aid classes include how to use gauze pads to stop life threatening bleeding, and we have plenty of different classes to fit every audience or need, from individuals to whole organizations.

Cloth Tape Gauze pads + cloth tape = your own bandage of any size! ​There are loads of different types of medical tape, but in our experience the best type is DEFINITELY cloth tape. It sticks better than other kinds of plastic-based tape, and it's great for making your own bandage of any size. Those large bandages they sell in assorted bandage sizes are never exactly the right size anyway...

Scissors or Shears

There are loads of different types of scissors you could use, but you should make sure that whatever scissors you do get have rounded tips. Why? Scissors can be used to cut clothing off of someone if you need to do CPR and apply an AED, and you don't want to accidentally cut someone with pointy scissors! They're also helpful if you need to cut roller gauze/cloth tape, or make your own gauze (if you don't have any) out of a clean t-shirt or other piece of cloth. The things in your first aid kit should be things you'd really miss if you needed them in an emergency, and scissors are one of those things!

Triangular Bandages Also known as "cravats" among first responders, these giant woven cloth triangles can easily be made into slings, used like rope to help make splints, and are generally the most versatile first aid supply. Applying direct pressure is crucial with life-threatening bleeding (which you can do by tying a triangular bandage over the wound), but tourniquets are the gold standard of stopping serious bleeding. Fashioning a tourniquet out of triangular bandages is simple, but requires practice.

• It's not a good idea to just list activities - resumes and applications already ask for relevant work history, activities, and more stuff that can be listed.
• Tell them what they can't learn from a list - anecdotes are a good use of words. We'll talk about this more later!
• Your title doesn't really matter - how well you know the applicant is what really matters. A short, non-personal LoR from a U.S. Senator should not mean more to a recipient than a thorough, glowing LoR from someone who knows the applicant well. If a U.S. Senator's generic letter DOES mean more to a recipient, the applicant should run for the hills...
• Don't talk about things you don't know - If you knew the applicant played hockey but know nothing about their experience, that shouldn't be what you write about. Focus on how you knew the applicant!

1. What is the average class size?

2. Who teaches classes?

3. What is your 4-year graduation rate?

4. What study abroad and/or professional placement opportunities are there?