Ten things that keep a person alive until help arrives.
Most people who die in front of someone die in the minutes before an ambulance gets there — and most of what would have saved them takes less than five minutes to learn. This is that five minutes, ten times over, taught the way we teach clinicians: what to do, what not to do, and the one thing to remember when your hands are shaking.
Every skill on this page starts the same way. Call — or point at one specific person and say "you, call 911." Say where you are first, then what's wrong. Put the phone on speaker and leave it on. The dispatcher will talk you through anything below while you do it. You are never doing this alone.
Now get the card.
Knowing the sequence is most of it. A hands-on course puts your hands on a manikin so the depth and rhythm become physical. A few hours; the card is good for two years.