National Lifeguard Service
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
National Lifeguard Service (NLS) is "the standard measure of lifeguard performance in Canada"[1]. All lifeguards and assistant lifeguards are certified by the Lifesaving Society of Canada. The program was officially launched in 1964[2].
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[edit] Legal status
Lifeguarding is regulated provincially (see Ontario's legislation, for example), but the standard requirement across Canada is National Lifeguard Service, though it may not be required by law. Bronze Cross certification is the minimum training required to be an assistant lifeguard. Where there is no legislation requiring NLS training for lifeguards, the Red Cross may offer their training, though most facilities do not recognize it as equivalent to NLS; nor does the Lifesaving Society.
[edit] History
The National Lifeguard Service was instituted in 1964 to develop the skills, knowledge and judgement achieved in prior lifesaving and first aid training in a single standard certification. The NLS Advisory Committee was formed of the Canadian Red Cross, Canadian Parks and Recreation Association, Lifesaving Society, Canadian Armed Forces, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Lifesaving society took responsibility for administering the NLS award in 1973, after a major revision of the standards. The latest revision was in 2004, and another is underway as of June 2008. In response to American Red Cross attempts to introduce their lifeguarding course in Canada, the CPRA unanimously reaffirmed it's committment to a single lifeguarding standard in Canada in 2006[3], as did the NLS Advisory Committee in 2007[4]. That single standard is NLS.
[edit] Structure
[edit] Prerequisite training
NLS candidates must have the Bronze Cross certification, which need not be current on exam day. The official designation received from this course is of a "Lifesaver". The course stresses risk prevention, and differentiates a moral obligation for candidates to render assistance to those in aquatic emergencies relative to legal obligations required by lifeguards in a dedicated aquatic environment such as a pool. Rescuer safety is always stressed regardless of training and obligation; with that being said, a commonly held and debated philosophy is how lifesaving puts a rescuer's life before a victim's life, and vice versa for lifeguards. A common example of this is the "ladder approach" used in Bronze Cross (rescuers use the safest rescue technique, and proceed to more dangerous techniques only when needed), whereas the Pia Carry (immediate full-body contact with the victim) is common practise for lifeguards rescuing Drowning Non-Swimmers (DNS).
All NLS candidates must be 16 years of age on or before exam day. They must also hold both a current Standard First Aid certification and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certificate (sometimes restricted to those offered by the "Big Four": Canadian Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, Canadian Ski Patrol or The Lifesaving Society of Canada), or an Aquatic Emergency Care certificate and CPR certificate offered by the Lifesaving Society. This amounts to about 100 hours of prerequisite training before one begins training as a lifeguard in Canada.
[edit] Training options
The Lifesaving Society of Canada's NLS program is split off into 4 separate specializations, or "options": Pool, Waterpark, Waterfront and Surf. All candidates must complete the Core components (20 hours), which teach basic lifeguarding skills and essential knowledge for lifeguarding any aquatic facility, along with at least one option (20 hours per option). The Waterpark option is the certification required to work at facilities equipped with wave pools and water slides, which present particular variations in rescue procedures than those found in the Pool Core components. The Waterfront option trains lifeguards for rescues on beaches with calm water, lakes or calm oceans, whereas the Surf option trains lifeguards with techniques for locations which experience surf conditions quite regularly. Because of the rarity of surf beaches in Canada, the Surf option has only been offered in two locations in the country, one in Tofino, BC; the other in Nova Scotia. The Surf option program was developed in part with representatives of Australia's surf lifeguards.
Particular variations in NLS techniques exist, depending on the province. For example, lifeguards in British Columbia and the Yukon retain a "targeted responder" status in their Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) standards, whereas those in other provinces have a "lay rescuer" status.
[edit] References
- ^ A Century of Saving Lives, 2005, <http://www.lifesaving.ca/main.php?lang=english&cat=programs&sub=lifeguard>. Retrieved on June 7, 2008.
- ^ Lifesaving Society Chronological Timelines, 2005, <http://www.lifesaving.ca/main.php?lang=english&cat=about&sub=timeline>. Retrieved on June 7, 2008
- ^ Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (October 1, 2006). "Minimum Lifeguard Certification Standard". Press release. Retrieved on June 7 2008.
- ^ Lifesaving Society (2007). "Ontario Branch Annual Report for 2007". Press release. Retrieved on June 7 2008.
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