There is a growing interest in sport and physical activity, and the availability of equipment for this type of physical activity is also increasing. This resulted in a significant extension of age limits in a group of people spending their free time in this way. New technologies and materials allow people who are not prepared to do it both conditionally and technically to engage in sports requiring high physical fitness. Not infrequently, the state of health is not adequate to the challenges posed by beginners. Trainers and instructors must ensure safety during their classes. Many sports considered extreme sports, available until recently only to small groups of chosen ones, have been commercialized.
Sports or extreme activities are primarily focused on providing their participants with the maximum experience and emotions. It should usually be assumed that people practicing such activity should have above average physical and mental abilities. Unfortunately, the impact of the prevailing fashion, new needs and opportunities currently available to people looking for new sources of emotions force us to redefine the concept of "extreme sport" and rather indicates the need to introduce the concept of "high-risk sport". The definition of high-risk sports includes both a set of sports traditionally considered extreme, as well as a certain number of activities often not spectacular, but with a significant risk of death or serious damage to health. This risk results not so much from the nature of the discipline itself, but from the level of preparation of the person undertaking the activity. Many people encouraged by advertising campaigns of sports products take on previously unknown physical challenges. They do not pay attention to the level of their preparation (training), psychomotor skills and health. This creates a huge risk of adverse incidents of deterioration of health in places with limited or delayed availability of emergency services.
Lack of specific legal regulations regarding the duties of a trainer or instructor in the scope of conducting a rescue operation towards persons over whom the organizer of the activity supervises during classes, as a rule, the use of the Polish normative system should be adopted on general principles, in particular in part criminal liability . The trainer should pay attention to the scope of responsibility related to ensuring safety, risk assessment and providing adequate means of providing assistance in the event of a possible threat. It should be mentioned at the outset that, according to the Polish legal definition, "first aid" is a set of actions taken to save a person in a state of emergency health performed by a person at the scene of an accident, including the use of medical devices and products made available to the general public. medicinal products (Journal of Laws June 1991, → October 20, 2006). The definition does not indicate a course of action, it merely speaks of a "set of actions" to be taken to save the life and health of a person who is in a state of danger. Therefore, it should be assumed that every method is good, as long as it meets the criteria of effectiveness, safety principles and bears the hallmarks of activities commonly recognized as rational. However, taking into account the definition of an accident - we must not take as a rule only common sense. Activities under pressure of time and emotions can significantly hamper the assessment of the situation, and decisions taken under stress may not be reasonable. To prevent such occurrences is the implementation of a behavioral countermeasures system consisting in the development and practice of algorithms for dealing with emergencies.p> One of the most important behaviors considered to be key actions at the scene of an accident by all rescue associations and organizations is to ensure safety for themselves and other people at the scene. In the field of security, the notion of situational awareness plays a very important role. To be effective, you need to know the environment and know how to act in times of danger. Finding yourself in an unknown environment will generate a sense of uncertainty. It needs to be clarified that uncertainty is a cognitive state, i.e. a situation in which we do not fully understand our location or cannot predict the consequences of actions taken. To survive, we must have as complete information as possible about our surroundings. Uncertainty warns us that we may not be fully prepared for the problems ahead. A serious problem arises when uncertainty transforms into fear of action, which leads to the reorganization of attention and the breakdown of the implementation of the rescue plan. In order for uncertainty not to turn into fear, we should prepare for behavioral coping with adversity, and put it simply to implement remedial behavior. If you are concerned that during training, outdoor activities, you may be injured, become ill or injured by taking part in a remedial behavior, taking a well-equipped first-aid kit, developing an emergency plan, and securing communications with emergency services. When we apply strategies for remedial behavior, we stop being afraid and begin to feel hope. Another factor determining our behavior in an extreme situation is the expected effectiveness, i.e. belief in the ability to achieve the set goals or accomplish the tasks entrusted. Numerous studies show that in people with a strong belief in their own effectiveness, the level of epinephrine, nor epinephrine and dopamine in a crisis situation remained low, which can be considered a favorable situation.Catecholamines are closely related to emotions, which in turn can significantly hinder the common sense assessment of the situation. Every trainer or instructor should strive to improve the efficiency of dealing with difficult situations. The best way to raise confidence in your own effectiveness is simulation training, during which we will be exposed to high levels of stress in conditions as close to reality as possible, and experienced instructors will teach you how to solve potential problems. When preparing for the role of a trainer or instructor who is aware of the hazards and is to act independently in especially non-urbanized areas, we must consider many aspects of such a situation. First of all, it is not possible to transfer responsibility for the injured person to another person, we are responsible for him from the moment of injury or illness to recovery, getting help from outside or in extreme cases of his death. A trainer or instructor acting in such a situation must be capable of lifting such a mental load with full awareness of the impact of his behavior on the course of the rescue operation and the emotional state of the other participants in the event. In an emergency, the other participants in the event will expect not only purely medical activities, but also management of the situation and the acquisition of leadership ensuring a sense of security. The manifested professionalism and the purposeful and effective action of the person responsible for conducting classes at the time of the accident makes him a leader capable, in the view of observers, of ensuring a safe exit from a given situation. To sum up: situational awareness means having appropriate knowledge about the operating environment, a high level of motivation and a belief in the high effectiveness of our activities supported by thorough theoretical and practical preparation. You should act quickly and decisively - so we will help the injured person. Human life will depend on it. Therefore, it is worth learning the basic principles of providing assistance to victims of accidents and sudden health deterioration. The use of ready-made schemes and algorithms such as: survival chain, SAMPLE, MARCH, AVPU, BLS AED, RICE is a definite facilitation in our activities.
It should be remembered that an accident is any sudden, dramatic and intense event that strikes at basic human values such as life, health, sense of security, shelter. The trainer or instructor must be aware of the possibility of such strong stimuli occurring among victims and witnesses, which cannot be coped with in everyday coping strategies. The spectrum of human responses to this situation is large and, depending on individual characteristics, can take the form of motor hyperactivity, aggression, anger, inhibition, withdrawal, and apathy. A person who wants to deal effectively with emergency situations outside of medical knowledge must have a number of non-medical skills and considerable knowledge in the field of emergency psychology. While reading first aid textbooks and viewing reports on websites, you can learn many aspects of rescue. However, theoretical knowledge of the issue can not replace participation in practical exercises under the guidance of experienced instructors.