First aid course for professional drivers

Content of professional driver first aid course

The purpose of professional driver first aid training is to enhance the professional skills of all professional drivers in handling exceptional situations that may occur on the road. The training includes emergencies that professional drivers may encounter in freight and cargo transportation, such as medical emergencies and accidents involving customers or other individuals. In addition to emergency first aid skills and accident scene management, the training covers the following topics:

• Different types of traffic accidents (involving heavy vehicles) and the most common injuries in traffic accident situations
• Specificities of assistance in a multi-patient situation in traffic
• Preventing hyporthermia at the scene of an accident
• The helper's stress reaction and the challenges of helping at the scene of an accident

More detailed content in the slide TRAFI/116038/05.03.175/2022

The training is also suitable for professional drivers who have no previous first aid training. The training leads to an official first aid certificate valid for 3 years from the date of completion.

Online the duration of the course is 7 lessons (1 lesson = 45 minutes).

In all continuing education courses for professional competence, one (1) competence day lasts for 7 hours and can be divided over two days. This practice also applies to online education. Once you have started the course, you are free to complete it at your own pace, as long as the course is initiated and completed within two consecutive calendar days.

Professional qualification training can be delivered online for a maximum of 12 hours.

Is it possible to obtain days of refresher training in the first aid courses at Uskalla Auttaa Oy in accordance with Directive 2003/59/EC on the professional competence of truck and bus drivers?

Yes, Uskalla Auttaa Oy is an officially approved training center by Trafficom, which means that all of our first aid courses lasting over 7 hours, whether in-class or via webinar, are eligible for continuing education day accreditation in Trafficom's professional competence register. We utilize training programs approved by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency for all our first aid courses, which is a prerequisite for obtaining professional competence accreditation for first aid training

It is possible to obtain one or more of the following first aid courses with one or more days of professional competence (directive day):

• Professional Driver First Aid online course 7h (1 day)
• Professional Driver First Aid Basic course as an online course (1 day)
• Basic first aid course 16h (2 days (combined or face-to-face)
• Advanced First Aid course 16h (2 days (combined or face-to-face)
• Emergency First Aid (1 day)

The Basic First Aid, Advanced First Aid and Emergency First Aid 8h courses can be delivered as face-to-face, webinars, online or a combination of them with content personalised for professional drivers, such as Professional Driver First Aid Basic 7h or Professional Driver First Aid Advanced 7h.

We will build the right professional competence package for you!

Requirements for the professional development and who is it for?

Advanced training for professional competence can only be provided by bodies that have been approved by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency as official training centres.

Uskalla Auttaa Oy is approved by this decision:
TRAFICOM/359694/05.03.06/2021.

All drivers with a C or D licence transporting goods and passengers need professional competence to maintain or validate their qualifications.

This training must be completed for 35 hours over five (5) years. Uskalla Auttaa Oy You can complete the full 35 hours of continuing professional development training.

This course can be completed in several parts. However, a minimum of seven (7) hours must be completed in one session and this one session may be spread over two consecutive days.

To qualify for advanced training for professional competence, a driver must meet one of the following criteria:

• The basic qualification must be completed if the right to drive with drivers licence C has started after 10.9.2009.
• Driving licence obtained before 10.9.2009 with a C-card.
• The basic qualification must be completed if the right to drive with a drivers license D has started after 10.9.2008.
• Driving licence obtained before 10.9.2008 on a D-card.

The driver or transport company can decide for themselves which courses they undertake, as long as they are related to the duties of a professional driver. The only mandatory competency day for all professional drivers, a 7-hour training session, is the course on defensive driving, which reinforces environmentally friendly, safe, and economical driving practices. It is advisable to choose courses that are genuinely beneficial for the driver's work. There are hundreds of approved training programs to choose from, but if they do not meet the needs of the driver or the transport company, we at Uskalla Auttaa Oy can approve a new competency training program tailored to your specific needs.

The training sessions to be organized must adhere to approved official continuing education programs and comply with the guidelines provided for them. Continuing education may be provided through practical training, driving practice, theoretical instruction, or a combination thereof. Theoretical instruction may also be provided through online teaching for up to 12 hours.

All courses must be notified to the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency 10 days before the course is due to take place in order to be issued with a certificate of professional competence. The responsibility for notification lies with the training center. At Uskalla Auttaa Oy, notifications are efficiently handled through an electronic interface, and upon completion, they are visible in Traficom's register within a few days. For each completed professional competency training session, you will receive a certificate from us, which you can use when applying for an endorsement on your driver's license or professional competency card in urgent cases. The application process takes place at an Ajovarma service point after you have completed all the continuation training days (35 hours).

Basic vocational training is provided by driving schools and, after the basic level, the qualifications are valid for 5 years. Advanced professional competence training allow the validity of the competence to be extended for five years at a time, provided that the driver's driving licence remains valid for that period.

Does KELA reimburse first aid training for drivers as part of their professional qualification?

Kela does not reimburse first aid training provided for the professional competence, or for the safety of customers or students. If first aid training is not provided as part of professional competence training, drivers or transport companies may apply for reimbursement from Kela for such training. Kela reimbursement covers first aid training and first aid supplies considered part of preventive occupational health care. However, Kela does not reimburse online first aid training.

Instead, Kela reimburses for first aid supplies purchased for the driver or company according to what is required in the workplace survey conducted by the occupational health nurse. For example, first aid kits, eye rinses, and the company's first aid stations are covered by the reimbursement. However, devices classified as emergency medical equipment, such as defibrillators, are not covered by the reimbursement.

First aid preparedness for professional drivers and transport companies

Transport companies and drivers must also ensure that they have adequate first aid preparedness at their workplace. The occupational health workplace survey shows how many first-aid trained persons there should be in each transport company. This survey is based on a sectoral and job-specific risk assessment. The driver's job is considered to fall into the obvious risk category, which means that the transport company must have at least one first-aid trained worker for every 10 people. For moderate risk jobs, the general level requirement for first aid training is usually a basic first aid course.

In many cases, the work of a driver is subject to stricter requirements than the statutory first aid requirements. For example, the client may require that every driver visiting a terminal or site must have a valid basic first aid course or emergency first aid competence. If such a requirement is imposed, it should be understood that the period of validity of first aid training is 3 years. However, you can extend the validity of a valid Basic First Aid course once by completing a refresher First Aid course.

Period of validity of advanced professional competence training

Advanced training under the professional competence programmes is valid for five years and all competences must be completed within five years.

Cards for first-aid training as refresher training are valid for 3 years from the date of completion, but this does not affect the validity of the qualification.

What do the terms 'professional competence day', 'directive day' and 'directive training' have in common?

Many professional drivers and training centers use terms such as "directive day" for continuing education days for professional competence. These references, including "directive training" or "competence day," refer to the abbreviation of the continuing education day according to Directive 2003/59/EC for truck and bus drivers.

Many professional drivers who have been in the industry for a long time will be familiar with many of the terms listed, which are used when talking about and marketing the professional competence days:

• Directive training
• Directive Day
• professional competence day
• Drivers professional competence day
• CAP training
• CAP Day
• driver training