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newSchoolWorks.com › VoTechWorks › Agriculture, Environment & Public Service › Corrections Officer › Certification Exam Preparation: State Academy, ACA CCO, and CPR/First Aid › Lesson 3
AGR-CORR63-11 · Lesson 3 · 6 clock hours · lab

CPR/First Aid Skills Review and AHA/Red Cross Performance Verification

Objective. Students will perform adult, child, and infant CPR and the use of an AED, control bleeding, and manage a suspected spinal injury to American Heart Association or American Red Cross performance standards, demonstrating each skill correctly on the first or second attempt.

⚠ Pending professional review

This lesson, its worked examples and its practice questions has not yet been verified by a licensed professional in the field or by a certification or approval body. It is a study draft and may contain errors. Do not use it as instructions for work on a job site or on live equipment. Always follow your instructor, your supervising professional, and current official references and regulations.

VoTechWorks program approval and accreditation are still in progress. Credentials are issued only by the certifying bodies named in each program, after their own exams.

Why These Skills Matter in a Corrections Setting

As a corrections officer, you may be the first — and sometimes only — person available when a medical emergency occurs inside a facility. Cardiac arrest, severe bleeding, choking, and traumatic injury can happen to incarcerated individuals, staff, or visitors. Your CPR/First Aid certification from the American Heart Association (AHA) or American Red Cross is not just a credential on a résumé; it is the documented proof that you can act correctly under pressure. This lab prepares you to pass the official skills verification and, more importantly, to save a life.

CPR: Core Concepts and Standards

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) circulates oxygenated blood to the brain and heart when the heart has stopped. The AHA and American Red Cross share the same science-based guidelines, updated periodically by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR).

Adult CPR sequence:

1. Confirm the scene is safe before approaching.

2. Tap the person's shoulders firmly and shout, "Are you okay?"

3. If unresponsive and not breathing normally (or only gasping), call or direct someone to call 9-1-1 and retrieve an AED.

4. Position the heel of one hand on the center of the chest (lower half of the breastbone), place the other hand on top, and interlock fingers.

5. Compress at least 2 inches deep at a rate of 100–120 compressions per minute. Allow full chest recoil between compressions; do not lean on the chest.

6. After 30 compressions, give 2 rescue breaths (1 second each, visible chest rise). Continue the 30:2 ratio until the AED is ready, the person starts to breathe normally, or trained help takes over.

Child CPR (roughly age 1 to puberty): Use one or two hands; compress about 2 inches deep (approximately one-third the depth of the chest). The ratio remains 30:2 for a single rescuer.

Infant CPR (under age 1): Use two fingers on the center of the chest just below the nipple line; compress about 1.5 inches deep (approximately one-third chest depth). The ratio is 30:2 for a single rescuer.

Rescue breathing: Create a seal (mouth-to-mouth with a barrier device, or mouth-to-nose for infants) and give a breath over 1 second — just enough to see the chest rise. Avoid excessive force, which causes stomach inflation.

AED Use

An automated external defibrillator (AED) analyzes heart rhythm and delivers a shock if needed. Turn it on and follow the voice prompts exactly.

If pads might overlap (infant or small child), place one on the chest and one on the back when instructed or when using pediatric pads.

Hemorrhage Control

Severe external bleeding is life-threatening within minutes. Follow this priority order:

1. Direct pressure: Apply firm, continuous pressure with a gloved hand and gauze. Do not remove soaked gauze; add more on top.

2. Tourniquet: For life-threatening limb bleeding that does not respond to direct pressure, apply a commercial tourniquet 2–3 inches above the wound (not over a joint). Tighten until bleeding stops, note the time of application, and do not remove it.

Always wear exam gloves before making contact with blood or body fluids — standard precautions apply in every situation.

Suspected Spinal Injury

If a mechanism of injury (fall, assault, vehicle crash) suggests a possible spinal injury, do the following:

Choking Response

Conscious adult or child: Ask "Are you choking?" If the person cannot speak, cough, or breathe, deliver 5 back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand, then 5 abdominal thrusts (Heimlich maneuver). Alternate until the object is dislodged or the person becomes unconscious.

Conscious infant: Support the head, give 5 back slaps, then 5 chest thrusts. Never perform abdominal thrusts on an infant.

If the person becomes unconscious, lower them carefully, call 9-1-1, and begin CPR. Each time you open the airway to give breaths, look for the object and remove it only if you can clearly see it.

Safety Points for the Lab

What the Skills Verification Tests

The official AHA or Red Cross evaluator will observe you completing a continuous CPR scenario without prompting. Critical steps — correct hand placement, adequate compression depth, correct rate, proper ratio, AED operation, and shock delivery — must be performed correctly. A single coached remediation attempt is allowed. Treat this lab as the real test: if you can do it correctly here, you will pass the credentialing organization's assessment.

Key terms10

Cardiac arrestThe sudden cessation of effective heart pumping, requiring immediate CPR and defibrillation to prevent death or permanent brain damage.
Compression depthThe distance the sternum is pushed down during each CPR compression; the current standard is at least 2 inches for adults and approximately one-third the chest depth for children and infants.
AED (automated external defibrillator)A portable device that analyzes heart rhythm and, if a shockable rhythm is detected, delivers an electrical shock to restore normal rhythm.
Chest recoilThe return of the chest wall to its natural position between compressions; full recoil is required to allow the heart to refill with blood.
TourniquetA device applied to a limb to stop life-threatening bleeding by compressing blood vessels; time of application must be recorded.
Manual in-line stabilizationA hands-on technique of holding the head and neck still in the position found to prevent further spinal cord injury in a suspected spinal injury.
Abdominal thrust (Heimlich maneuver)An upward push delivered to the abdomen to expel a foreign-body airway obstruction in a conscious adult or child; not used on infants.
Standard precautionsInfection-control practices — including gloves and barrier devices — applied when contacting any blood or body fluid, regardless of the person's known health status.
30:2 ratioThe compression-to-ventilation ratio used in single-rescuer adult, child, and infant CPR: 30 compressions followed by 2 rescue breaths.
Skills verification formThe official AHA or Red Cross checklist used by a certified evaluator to confirm that each critical CPR and first-aid step is performed correctly before the credential is awarded.
In class: Instructor demonstrates the full CPR sequence for adult, child, and infant — positioning, compression depth and rate, rescue breathing ratios, and AED use — on manikins, narrating each step against the AHA/Red Cross skill checklist; students then practice in pairs on manikins with the checklist open until each student self-reports confidence, then the partner checks them off. · Students rotate through three first-aid stations: (1) hemorrhage control using direct pressure and tourniquet application on a training arm; (2) recognition and response to suspected spinal injury, including manual stabilization and calling for EMS; (3) recognition and first-aid response to choking in a conscious adult, child, and infant — each station observed by an instructor or qualified peer evaluator using the AHA/Red Cross skills checklist. · Each student completes one full uninterrupted CPR scenario — bystander-down situation, no pulse, begin compressions, attach AED, deliver shock, continue CPR — evaluated by the instructor with the official AHA or Red Cross skills verification form, mirroring the actual certification skills test students will take with the credentialing organization.
Materials: Adult, child, and infant CPR manikins with sanitary face shields; AED trainer units; hemorrhage-control training arms; commercial tourniquets (training grade); AHA BLS or Heartsaver skills checklists (current edition) or American Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED skills verification forms; exam gloves; hand sanitizer; facility first-aid reference card
Check: Instructor uses the official AHA or Red Cross skills verification checklist; each critical skill step (correct hand placement, compression depth meeting published standard, correct ratio, AED shock delivery, tourniquet placement) must be performed correctly; any critical error (e.g., incorrect compression depth maintained through coaching, failure to use AED) requires one remediation attempt before the student may sit the actual certification; students who do not pass the skills verification after one remediation are referred for additional supervised practice before their certification date.

Practice check8

Answer each question, then check it. Nothing is recorded; this is your own practice.

CPR/First Aid — Adult CPR
1. You find an adult unresponsive and not breathing normally. After calling for help, what is the correct hand placement for chest compressions?
CPR/First Aid — Adult CPR
2. During adult CPR, what is the correct compression rate per minute according to current AHA/Red Cross guidelines?
CPR/First Aid — Infant CPR
3. When performing CPR on an infant, which technique and depth are correct for a single rescuer?
CPR/First Aid — AED Use
4. An AED has analyzed a victim's heart rhythm and is ready to deliver a shock. What must you do immediately before pressing the shock button?
CPR/First Aid — Hemorrhage Control
5. A corrections officer responds to an inmate with a deep laceration on the forearm that is bleeding heavily. Direct pressure with gauze has been applied for two minutes but the bleeding has not slowed. What is the appropriate next step?
CPR/First Aid — Spinal Injury Management
6. During a facility emergency, a staff member who witnessed a use-of-force incident is found on the ground unconscious with a suspected spinal injury. There is no immediate danger to the scene. What is the correct initial action?
CPR/First Aid — Choking Response
7. A conscious six-month-old infant is brought to the booking area by a visitor and appears to be choking — the infant cannot cry and has a weak cough. Which intervention is correct?
CPR/First Aid — Certification Standards
8. During the official skills verification, a student performs CPR correctly but never attaches the AED that is present at the scene. How does this affect the student's result?
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