The Commons · Lifesaving skills
The first ten minutes are not about doing everything. They are about recognizing what cannot wait, calling for help, and using the lifesaving skills you have actually practiced.
Start with safety and 911.
Pause long enough to see traffic, fire, electricity, weapons, chemicals, unstable structures, or other hazards. Do not create another patient. Call 911 as soon as it is safe, put the phone on speaker if directed, give the exact location, and follow the dispatcher’s instructions.
Send people to specific tasks.
Point to an individual and say what you need: call 911, bring the AED, meet responders, or bring the bleeding-control kit. A general request to “someone” can leave everyone waiting for someone else to act.
Recognize the problems that cannot wait.
- Unresponsive and not breathing normally: begin the CPR you have been trained to provide and use an AED as soon as it arrives.
- Life-threatening external bleeding: use firm direct pressure and the wound-packing or tourniquet skills taught in recognized training.
- Choking: use the age-appropriate technique you learned in first-aid or CPR training.
- Difficulty breathing, chest pain, stroke signs, severe allergic reaction, seizure, or declining responsiveness: update 911 and follow instructions. Do not delay professional care.
Keep checking.
Conditions change. Bleeding can restart, breathing can worsen, and a person can become less responsive. Stay with them, keep them from becoming chilled, avoid unnecessary movement, and tell responders what happened, what you observed, and what care was provided.
Training is the preparation.
This brief complements Medical Readiness Before You Need It and Before Help Arrives. Those pieces help people think about training and supplies. This one is about the opening minutes. Written guidance cannot replace hands-on CPR, AED, first-aid, and bleeding-control instruction.
Check the AED and kit locations in the places you use regularly. Make sure supplies are visible, accessible, and maintained. Learn the skill before buying advanced equipment.
In the first ten minutes, clear action matters more than perfect action: make the scene safer, summon help, and use the skill you know.
Learn the skills
Red Cross CPR, AED, and first-aid training · First Aid for Severe Trauma