Is First Aid a prerequisite for Emergency Preparedness?

[NC Scouter]

I know that to complete Emergency Preparedness a scout must also complete First Aid, but must First Aid be completed before the other Emergency Prep requirements are started?

 

As a comparison Whitewater requirement 3 clearly states "Before doing requirements 4 through 13, earn the Canoeing merit badge if you will be using a canoe to earn this merit badge. If you will be using a kayak, earn the Kayaking BSA Award." But for Emergency Prep there is no language saying First Aid must be earned before the other requirements are done.

[gcnphkr]

It is not a prerequisite, merely a requirement.

[scottteng]

The practical answer is yes. When a scout comes to a SM or ASM and says I would like to work on E Prep we would normally tell them to work on first aid first as it is required for E Prep. I suppose we could split lots of rhetorical hairs but why?

[Hal_Crawford]

We have had scouts work on both simultaneously, particularly at camp (Goshen Camp Bowman. A couple of years ago we had our waterfront closed by flooding (ironic, ain't it?). Another scouter and I happened to be EP MB councilors so we created an Emergency Prep class as a substitute. A number of the scouts were simultaneously enrolled in First Aid and there was no problem as the all completed First Aid at camp. The scouts in EP all got partials as there are requirements that have to be done at home with family. EP is now a regular offering at Bowman including a camp-wide emergency drill. Scouts need to do the family plan/discussion in advance in order to complete the MB at camp.

 

Bottom line is the two merit badges can be done simultaneously.

[Lisabob]

I know some summer camps make 1st Aid a pre-req for EP. I wonder if that's not crowd control as much as anything else?

[Eagle92]

I was one o0f those who got both First Aid and Em. Prep simultaneously. The summer camp counselor taught both classes, so I went from the FA class in one room, to the EOP class in another room. I had to do that b/c I dodn't pass my swim test and couldn't take the canoeing MB I wanted scheduled to take.

[NC Scouter]

Thanks for your replies. To stir the pot a little more I note that none of the EP requirements have anything to do with first aid, other than a weak connection in the evacuation requirement. That being the case, why is it important to complete First Aid first?

[Hal_Crawford]

NC:

I guess to be truly prepared for an emergency you would have to know first aid.

[John-in-KC]

Have you operated in an urgent situation where volunteers are manning the dikes (literally)?

 

The Mississippi/Missouri River system flood of 1993 was a bad time. We sandbagged not to stop the water, but to hold it back while business owners evacauated low ground.

 

I know people who were sprained or got cuts in the river water. Trust me, clean is the antithesis of that water that year. Being able to apply appropriate first aid kept them working.

 

First Aid is an essential skillset for operating in any urgent situation. Period.

[NC Scouter]

Okay folks, I've understood from the outset that first aid is an essential skill for emergencies, but I still don't understand why that requirement needs to be completed before the others for this badge. Most other badges don't stipulate that the requirements be completed in any particular order unless, as in the cases of Lifesaving and Whitewater, the prerequisite skills are needed before completing the remaining requirements for safety's sake. That is not the case with EP.

 

The reason this has come up is that one boy in our troop is looking for a buddy or two to work on EP with him. He has talked to the counselor, just as he should have, but the only other guys in the troop who want to join him don't yet have First Aid. It seemed to me that they should be able to join the first scout and complete the other EP requirements, then come back to the counselor later after earning First Aid to have their blue cards signed for EP, sort of like getting a partial for a merit badge at summer camp.

[SR540Beaver]

We just offered E-Prep to the boys within the troop who wanted to do it. Some already had First Aid and some did not. We have an MBC who is offering First Aid to any who want it here in a few weeks. While it is preferable that someone taking E-Prep already have First Aid, it is not a prerequisite. Those who took E-Prep without having First Aid will be able to take First Aid and the E-Prep MBC will sign that requirment off when the finish First Aid.

[scoutingagain]

NC,

 

As noted in the first reply, First Aid MB is a requirement, not a pre-requisite. As an EP MBC I would have no problem with the approach you describe. Scouts would not be signed off on an EP merit badge until they could show me at least a signed blue card or other documentation they had earned First Aid MB, but I would not prohibity them from working on other requirements until then.

 

But that's me.

 

Ultimately a scout has to demonstrate to the satisfaction of an individual MB counselor that they have met the requirements for a specific MB. Other MBCs may have a different interpretation than I do.

 

SA