I planned to go for a movie with my son today, since it’s public holiday and all that and I have nothing better to do. You know, Wakanda Forever has been showing in the cinema for awhile and I’ve been wanting to watch it. But in the end, instead of going to the cinema to watch Wakanda Forever, I opted to do something else; which is attend the SSI React Right organized by KAIA Underwater Academy.

React Right is SSI’s emergency first response course for both divers and non divers alike. It provides us with the training and knowledge we need in order to act as a first responder in a real life medical emergency.

Although I’m already a Basic Life Support Provider, it’s been awhile since I get to practice my skills, so this is a good opportunity to refresh and review my knowledge, with a real doctor as and real medical assistants, no less.

Here’s sharing with you pictures taken in class today with Dr. Syakir Halek. Learning with him is awesome, as he’s not only a doctor, but a scuba diver as well- so it’s easy to ask questions about medical emergencies that’s caused by diving accidents.

Throughout the program, participants were taught primary assessment, first aid, CPR and primary stabilization techniques. Apart from that, we were also taught how to use Automated External Defibrillator (AED)as well as oxygen administration in diving emergencies.

Dr. Syakir Halek demonstrating how to assess emergency situation before proceeding with CPR demonstration.

Participants were shown how to use Automated External Defibrillator (AED) during emergency.

We’re being taught how to deal with choking victims.

First aid portion of SSI React Right course. Here we were shown how to give first aid and treat minor injuries.

The academic session encouraged active participations, so it’s really a lot of fun.

And watching my classmates in action during practical training session definitely beats watching Wakanda Forever.

Yours truly during the CPR hands on session.

My instructor Dr. Syakir Halek evaluating my performance during the CPR practical session. This is not easy to pass, because instead of the old mannequin, they’re using state of art mannequin with build-in detector on your CPR quality. The mannequin is synced with a smart device apps that will give you the rating for your performance- on whether you did your chest compression and rescue breaths correctly or not. If you didn’t perform correctly, then you will be need to repeat the entire CPR sequence all over until you get it right.

My instructor Suhaimi Salleh demonstrating how to administer oxygen.

Unlike other first aid/ Emergency First Responder (EFR)/ Basic Life Support(BLS)courses out there where they only offers only first aid, CPR and AED training, SSI React Right course offers an added value where Oxygen Administrator training is also included.

All SSI React Right participants are required to demonstrate how to administer oxygen during medical/diving emergencies as well, so at the end of the day, you will not just be a qualified emergency first responder, but a qualified oxygen administrator as well.

Here’s a picture of my classmate being funny after demonstrating how to administer oxygen during emergency.

So did I managed to pass? Yes, thankfully, I did, despite of the high standards. Although I think there’s room for improvements on my CPR and first aid skills, but I managed to pass. Thank God for that.

One thing I like about continuing my education with SSI is that it gives me instant gratification -where I don’t have to wait for a couple of days, weeks or even months long to see my certification being issued. Waiting is not my forte. I’ve never been such a patient person, so having to wait for the fruit of my hard work is such a turnoff.

With SSI, as long as you’ve completed your courses to your instructor’s satisfaction, they will immediately certify you and you can see your certs in your MySSI apps. It feels really rewarding, and in many ways, this encouraged me to keep learning.

One for the album. Here’s all the people who made my learning experience a lot of fun.

Thank you fellow instructors and KAIA Underwater Academy for the knowledge. You guys are awesome!

SSI React Right course is open to both divers and non-divers alike as well as Divepros who are interested to be React Right instructors.

If you’d like to learn basic first aid skills, I’d say go for this one, considering it is also inclusive of Oxygen Administration training. Group and corporate training can also be arranged at special rate.

For further inquiries or to sign up for the course you may contact KAIA Underwater Academy at:

010-4307230 or 019-9191981