Joining us in Birmingham this September?
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Whether you joined St John Ambulance as a badger, or have never done a session of CPR in your life, there is a place for you in our society.
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Welcome to our society, it's nice to meet you! We are a group of students who are involved with first aid. We welcome everyone within our group, whether they are an experienced Advanced First Aider starting their career in healthcare, or just a student who would like to know how to help their friends in case they have a little too much to drink.
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We provide informal training at our weekly sessions, alongside the opportunity to join St John Ambulance as part of the University of Birmingham Unit. As part of SJA, we provide First Aid at both local events such as Aston Villa and national events such as Birmingham Pride and London Marathon. These events are brilliant opportunity to engage with the community and get out and about, even during the pandemic. Over the past year, SJA have continued to provide first aid cover and support the NHS throughout 2020/2021, having been involved in the rollout of the vaccination program and assisting in hospitals alongside covering events.
Many of our members become part of SJA, however this is by no means a requirement to get involved with us, if you don't wish to. As a member of the First Aid Society, you can train alongside and access the same equipment and weekly meetings our Unit Members.
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As it stands, we are currently unable to say how our meetings will be held. However, we typically run sessions between 19:30 and 21:00 on Monday evenings during term time, either online or in person. We currently have members from both the University of Birmingham and Birmingham City University.
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Who can join?Anyone can join our society! There is a place for you in our society. You don't have to be studying a medicine degree (most of us don't!). Whether you're a fresher looking for what to spend your time, or a postgrad whos looking for something a bit different, you're more than welcome to join us. To join the SJA Unit, there is an application process. You also have to be a member of the Univerisity to join our unit. However, there are other local units you can join, and also still be part of the First Aid society, allowing you to come and join all our socials and meetings.
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I've never done and First Aid before. Can I still join?Yes! Of course you can! This applies to both St John and the First Aid Society. The aim of our society is to teach and participate in First Aid. Most of our members come in knowing very little, but we make sure you know everything you need to.
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How will sessions be run?We are currently unsure how our training sessions and socials will be running in the coming year. Over the past year, we held weekly online meetings on a Monday evening (usually 7:30-9:00). St John Ambulance first aid cover occured in person where required. The Guild (our student union) will be reviewing guildines in October. If we are unable to run in person sessions, we will continue to hold our online meetings, but hopefully will be able to run practical skills sessions.
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How much does it cost to join?To join the society, it costs £5*. Membership can be bought from the Guild site. This allows us to pay for the training equipment we use, and means you can vote in the AGM (annnual general meeting). To be an official member of the society you have to purchase membership. For SJA, it is free to join, and all your uniform will be provided, the only exceptions being black shoes/boots, and a white tshirt to wear under your uniform. While on events, you can claim back money spent on travel and food (within reason), so you won't be out of pocket. In previous years, we have had 'Weekend Away', where all the training student volunteers go to an outwars bounds centre for the second weekend of training, and there is a charge of about £20. This will not be taking place this year, therefore there won't be this charge. *We are currently in the process of changing the charge to £3. This will hopefully be implimented before the start of term.
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Do I have to buy membership before I try out the society?No! You are more than welcome to come along and try out our society for a week or two before buying membership. This applies throughout the year.
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Do I have to join SJA if I become part of the society?No. You can be a member of the First Aid society, come to all our socials and attend our society training events without having to join the St John Unit.
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How do I join SJA?To join St John Ambulance, you have to apply via the central system. You can apply to be an Event First Aider (FA), or as as part of the Youth Team (training young people within the organisation). Please see the official website. The joining requirements can be found here. You have to be over 18 to be part of the adult unit. You will have to go through a selection day (where you will be interviewed, and have to do 4 minutes of CPR - you will be shown how to do this). If you pass this selection day, you will undergo 4 days of training, then an assessment. After then, you are a qualified First Aider, and will be able to go out on events!
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What is LINKs?This is an old term used for student volunteering. Despite being changed a couple of years ago, this is still thrown around.
LAFTAs, Feb. 2020 (Links Awards For Tremendous Achievements)
Unit members at Edgbaston Cricket ground, July 2021
