November is CPR month, and Emergency Medical Services throughout the province are recommending residents take a First Aid and CPR training class.

Public Education Officer for EMS in Calgary, Stuart Brideaux says you never know when you'll need to use it.

"At a very minimum, having taken a first aid course at least gives someone the understanding of when they may need to call 9-1-1." Brideaux says "Any intervention someone can do, or appropriate training someone can apply while waiting for emergency services is only going to be that much better to benefit the patient."

Brideaux recommends updating your CPR courses, as current standards can change at any time.

"CPR guidelines change more so than First Aid, they tend to modify and change maybe every two years, sometimes not for awhile but they can be updated all at once in quick succession as well. They may change the guidelines based on what they're finding at the Heart & Stroke research level. It's even more important to keep that current once you've taken a course."

He says there's also a difference in procedure depending on the age of the patient you're treating.

"A standard First Aid and CPR course will teach you adult, child and infant. They're different procedures for a reason, children and infants are not just tiny adults, they are physiologically different and have different needs in cardiac arrest."

While being properly trained in CPR can prolong or save a life under many circumstances, not having training doesn't mean you can't help, says Brideaux.

"Emergency Communications Officers, once they have the required information they need in order to dispatch resources, will stay on the phone with you all the way until paramedics and first responders arrive. They're trained to provide what are known as pre-arrival instructions in advance of the arrival of paramedics." he adds "They'll provide you help, even coaching or guiding you through the use of an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) or CPR, first-aid or anything to help relieve an airway or choking emergency."

He says those emergency situations can be scary, and that's why it's important to have hands on training before you need it.

Courses are offered online, and in person through public or private instructors like the Red Cross and St. John's Ambulance.