Which is a critical first-aid skill that students should know?

• A. Drive to hospital yourself without calling EMS
• B. Ignore unresponsive person
• C. Wait for someone else to act
• D. Check responsiveness and call for help

Answer: (D)

In an emergency, the fastest way to get the right help to a person in trouble is to quickly assess whether they are responsive and summon help. The best first-aid skill is to check responsiveness—tap or gently shake the person and ask if they can hear you. If there’s no response, you immediately call for emergency services and, if available, get an AED. While you wait for responders, you can continue with the next steps, such as checking breathing and starting CPR if needed.

This approach matters because it activates professional help right away, which is crucial for improving outcomes. Driving to a hospital on your own bypasses EMS and wastes valuable time, ignoring an unresponsive person delays life-saving care, and waiting for someone else to act means no one starts the critical early response.