During my time here at RETTEW, I have developed a lot of useful skills. These skills include things I have learned in training courses as well as small tips from my supervisor. I have attended many safety trainings this summer, including Permit Required Confined Space Rescue, Fall Protection/Rescue, First Aid/CPR/AED, HAZWOPPER, and Trenching and Excavating. In these training courses I learned a lot about different regulations and the practices we utilize to not only abide by regulation, but also protect our employees and clients.
I think the most useful skill that I have started to develop is instructing these trainings. I took a lot of notes and payed close attention to how my coworkers would teach their classes. I asked for tips and advice as I began instructing some classes. My first class was a Fire Extinguisher/Fire Prevention class. I spent a lot of time making sure I knew all of the material. I was nervous at first, but once I got to talking, I started to feel much more comfortable, and I remembered some of the tips and tricks that I observed from other instructors.
Being able to present and instruct any material to a class of adults is a difficult skill set to master. Many people that have done hundreds of them are still mastering them. My most recent training that I have instructed was First Aid/CPR/AED. This class presented my biggest challenge yet. The previous classes I taught were only 30-40 minutes long. The FACPR classes I was teaching were four and six hours long. They contained much more material, some of which I wasn’t familiar with. I spent weeks leading up to this class studying the material, changing the slides and my preferences, and practicing my notes. Eventually it came time to teach the classes. All my time and effort payed off. I felt extremely comfortable teaching the classes and was able to answer a lot of questions. My reviews came back even better than I thought they would. I am now looking forward to the next classes that I get to instruct.