Lifeguarding Study Guide
Ginny Walsh
Types of drowning victims:
 Distressed swimmer: Head above water, at the surface of the
water, able to call for help, breathing, trying to support themselves
 Active Drowning victim: At the surface or underwater, struggles to
breathe, vertical or leaning back slightly
 Passive Victim: Floating or submerged, not breathing, horizontal or
vertical, not able to call for help
Responsibilities:
 Primary Lifeguard responsibilities
o Patron surveillance
o Prevent injuries (eliminate hazardous situations/behavior)
o Enforce rules
o Recognize & respond to emergencies
o Administer first aid & CPR
o Work as a team with lifeguards, staff & management
 Secondary Lifeguard responsibilities
o Pool chemistry
o Assist patrons
o Cleaning/maintenance
o Records/reports
o Opening & closing duties
 Management
o Create, review, revise policies, rules, EAPs
o Address unsafe conditions
o Comply with facility laws and regulations
o Maintain records on the facility & employees
o Assist after an emergency
Effective scanning:
 Move your head and eyes while scanning and look directly at each
area
 Stay focused and alert with active posture
 Scan the surface, middle, and bottom of the pool
 If you cannot see because of a glare, adjust your position slightly to
remove the glare spot
Types of coverage:
 Zone coverage: swimming area is divided into separate zones, one
for each lifeguard station
 Total coverage: you are the only lifeguard conducting patron
surveillance when you’re on duty
 Emergency back up coverage: when one lifeguard enters the water
for a rescue, the other lifeguards on during must now watch a larger
area
Help ensure safe group visits to the pool by:
 Know who the group chaperones are
 Having an appropriate number of lifeguards
 Ensure that patrons stay in the areas of the pool that are right for
their swimming level
Legal considerations:
 Good Samaritan Law: Protects people who have provided
emergency care in good faith without having accepted anything in
return (ie when you aren’t working)
 Negligence: When a person is injured because lifeguards failed to
follow the standard or care or failed to act
 Failing to control or stop behaviors that could cause injury
 Failing to provide care
 Providing inappropriate care
 Providing care beyond their level of training
Spinal Injuries
 Causes:
o Entering the water head-first in shallow water
o Receiving a blow to the head
o Colliding with another swimmer
 Signs & symptoms
o Bumps or bruises on the head, neck, back
o Heavy bleeding of the head, neck, back (including ears and
nose)
o Seizures, changes in consciousness, nausea or vomiting
o Impaired breathing, loss of balance, headache
 Care you provide:
o Depends on the victims condition, location, availability of
additional lifeguards
o Non-standing victim: support head in the position it was
found until EMS gets there
o Standing victim: secure the victim to a backboard
o For a victim on land, do not move the victim unless the scene
becomes unsafe
 Head-splint technique: provides proper manual in-line stabilization
(helps minimize movement of the head and neck)
 Head and chin support
 When backboarding, secure the straps in this order: upper chest,
hips, thighs
Abbreviations:
 AED: Automated External Defibrillator
 AFR: Accidental fecal releases
o Require water treatment and temporary pool closure
 EAP: Emergency action plan
 MSDS: Material safety data sheets
o Contains information about what type of chemicals are in use
at the facility
When do you use the HAINES recovery position?
 If you must leave a victim alone to get help or if that is the only way
to keep the airway clear of vomit
What pieces of equipment should be easily accessible for emergency
use?
 Backboard, AED, gloves, resuscitation mask, and rescue tube
Steps for spinal injuries:
 Activate EAP
 Enter water (slide-in entry)
 Perform a rescue
 Check for consciousness & breathing
o If breathing, backboard the victim
o If victim is not breathing, remove quickly and provide care
Steps for water rescues:
1. Activate EAP
2. Enter water and preform appropriate rescue
3. Remove victim from the water
4. Provide emergency care as needed
First Aid, AED, CPR Study Guide
Abbreviations:
 PPE: Personal protective equipment
o Disposable gloves & breathing barrier
o Use them to protect yourself from bloodborne pathogen
transmission
 BVM: Bag Valve Mask
 SAMPLE: Secondary Assessment
* Signs and Symptoms
* Allergies
* Medications
* Past pertinent medical history
* Last oral intake
* Events leading up to the incident
 RICE: Rest, immobilize, cold, elevate
 LOC: Level of Consciousness
Need: Care for asthma/difficulty breathing
Size up the scene:
 Use your senses to check for hazards
 Determine what caused the injury or illness
 Determine number of injured
 Determine what additional help is needed
 Put on appropriate PPE
Steps to providing care:
1. Size up scene
2. Obtain consent from the victim or the victim’s parents
3. Perform primary assessment
a. Check for responsiveness (if none—call EMS)
b. Open the airway and look, listen and feel for breathing and a
pulse
c. Quickly scan for severe bleeding
d. Provide care as needed
4. Perform secondary assessment
a. Identify and care for conditions that are not life threatening
Summon EMS when:
 You know someone is having a heart attack
 A bone is protruding
 Unconscious victim
What type of care to give:
 Burns
o First remove victim from the source of the burn
 Seizure in water
o Support victim with head above water until seizure ends
 Severe bleeding
o Press firmly against the wound with a sterile dressing
 Conscious choking
o Give 5 back blows & 5 abdominal thrusts
 Adult/child: Place fist in the middle of the abdomen,
just above the navel
 Infant: when giving back blows, position the infant so
the head is lower than the chest
 No Breathing, but has pulse (also if infrequent gasps) = rescue
breathing (ventilations)
o Adult
 1 rescue breath about every 5 sec
o Child/Infant
 1 rescue breath every 3 sec
o If have 2 rescuers—use BVM (Bag Valve Mask)
 No breathing, no pulse (cardiac arrest) = CPR
o Allow chest to fully recoil between compressions
o Compress at a rate of 100 compressions per minute
o Place victim on a hard, flat surface
o Adult
 Compress the chest at least 2 inches
o Infant
 2 rescuer: 15 compressions and 2 ventilations
 one hand on forehead, 2 or 3 fingers in the center of
the chest
Cardiac Chain of Survival
1. Early recognition & early access to the EMS system
2. Early CPR
3. Early defibrillation
4. Early advanced medical care
Using the AED
1. Turn on AED and follow prompts
2. Wipe victims chest dry
3. Attach AED pads to victim’s bare, dry chest
a. One on upper right, other lower left
i. If don’t fit for infant or child, place one in the middle of
the chest and the other on the back
ii. If they have jewelry, avoid the jewelry or remove
4. Plug in connector
5. Follow prompts
a. When advises a shock, tell everyone to stand clear
Giving ventilations
1. Position the mask
2. Open the airway
3. Begin giving ventilations
Unconscious chocking
1. Lower victim to the ground and open the airway
2. Retilt head and try ventilations
3. Give 30 chest compressions
4. Look for an object inside the mouth (if you see something, sweep it
out)
5. Give 2 ventilations
Sudden Illness Symptoms
 Nausea, vomiting, bruising or rigidness of the abdomen, changes in
skin condition