Originally Posted By: hikermor
My CERT trainer, a highly experienced fire captain, said that of the 300 or so CPR situations in which he was involved, only seven were significant saves (the victim walked out of the hospital.


That's a pretty good ratio. One of my instructors (former law enforcement now EMT) did CPR for ten with two saves, but that's very unusual. Another instructor (former military corpsman, former Paramedic, now law enforcement) said that he'd had one save out of over one hundred attempts.

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Speaking of which, my CERT training is that in a mass casualty situation (multiple victims), administration of CPR is not contemplated. You essentially separate the quick and the dead, treating massive bleeding and similar cases rather than devote disproportionate resources to those not breathing. It was a bit of a shock to me to confront this strategy, but it does make sense. i hope I never have to follow it.


That's part of the CERT standard nationwide. Our mission is to do the greatest good for the greatest number. The idea is that we'll save more people if we don't invest all the manpower and effort in one or two. As you said, this only applies during a mass casualty event.