World Water Safety

INTERNATIONAL LIFE SAVING FEDERATION

Gemeenteplein 26 – 3010 Leuven – Belgium
Tel: (32.16) 89.60.60 – Fax: (32.16) 89.70.70
E-mail: [email protected] - Web: www.ilsf.org

LIFESAVING POSITION STATEMENT - LPS 09

RECERTIFICATION FOR BEACH AND OPEN WATER LIFESAVERS

NOTE: This statement is intended for those persons, acting in a professional

paid or volunteer capacity, who are trained in the techniques of water rescue
and resuscitation and who assume a duty to safeguard members of the public
at aquatic sites. They may be called lifeguards, lifesavers or both. This
statement is not directed at members of the public trained in water safety and
rescue techniques, but without a duty to respond, who may also be known, in
some areas of the world, as lifesavers.

The standards recommended in this position statement are the minimum that ILS
recommends. ILS encourages organisations to exceed these recommended minimum
standards where local conditions and/or expectations of lifesavers are warranted.

BACKGROUND

It is the primary role of a lifesaver to ensure the health and safety of the users of a specified
aquatic environment through enforcing all facility/venue policies and procedures and through
preventive actions, responding to persons likely to come into or in difficulty or in a hazardous
situation, and to rescue persons in danger and provide necessary after care.

It has been a tradition for many lifesaving organisations to have a period during which
lifesavers and lifeguard qualifications/certifications are deemed to be current. The period of
currency varies from country to country and organisation to organisation, and experience
shows the period during which a certificate is deemed current can vary from one year
(annual), two years (biennial) or to three years.

Further, there are those countries or organisations with certifications with a validity period of
greater than one year that request a lifesaver to be re-assessed annually for one component
of the certificate such as cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or rescue breathing.

One study of lifeguards, for example, found clear demonstration of the value of in-service
training (Turner et al 2003) and the lifeguards to be “constantly practicing skills and training”.
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Lifesaving Position Statement – MPS-09. Recertification

Experts in the field of lifesaver training and rescue believe that lifesavers need to be able to
demonstrate that they have retained effective mastery of the skills and techniques that are
required of lifesavers. This includes the physical capability to affect those skills and
techniques. This type of re-certification or proficiency/performance testing can also provide
an opportunity for lifesavers to update information and techniques.

The WHO Guidelines for Safe Recreational Water Environments, Volume 1 (WHO 2003)
recommend that lifeguards (and lifesavers) should have appropriate training and hold a
suitable current qualification. This would normally be from an appropriate and recognized
training and assessment agent. Lifesavers should, for example, be competent in lifesaving
methods, swimming and the most current methods of resuscitation. Requalification should
be undertaken at regular intervals, and practical rescue and resuscitation skills should be
practised frequently. Both fitness and technical knowledge are required.

Research in CPR and AED (automatic external defibrillation) training has shown that on-
going refresher training is required for maintenance of skill and confidence in readiness for
use in real emergencies. For example, in Woollard et al 2004 the study concluded that
“initial training improved performance of all CPR skills, although all except compression rate
had deteriorated after 6 months. The proportion of subjects able to correctly perform most
CPR skill was higher following refresher training than after the initial class.” In a more recent
study, Woollard et al (2006) showed that “refresher classes held more frequently and at
shorter intervals increased subjects' self-assessed confidence, possibly indicating greater
preparedness to use an AED in a real emergency”. Further, in Christenson J. et al (2007), it
was found that “after primary training/retraining, the CPR skills of targeted lay responders
deteriorate nominally but 80% remain competent up to 1 year. AED skills do not deteriorate
significantly and 90% of volunteers remain competent up to 1 year”.

The American Red Cross Health Safety & Community Services section reviewed 24
research studies on the retention of CPR skills and motivational preparedness; Red Cross
conducted six of these studies and the remaining 18 were drawn from published peer
reviewed journals. Many of the studies point to the need for a program of on-going periodic
education, reviews and skill practice sessions.

The International Life Saving Federations has reviewed this issue and has developed this
Position Statement based on consensus expert opinion.

This statement addresses the need to regularly reconfirm that the lifesaver remains
effective.

STATEMENT

1. Lifesavers need to successfully complete a formal qualification to be eligible to provide

their services.

2. Proficiency training and retesting ensures that lifesavers maintain the required skills,
knowledge, judgement and physical capability to perform their duties. This type of
training can also provide an opportunity for lifesavers to update information and
techniques

3. The International Life Saving Federation recommends that an appropriate proficiency

(performance) test be undertaken annually in advance of taking up a position as a
lifesaver.
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Lifesaving Position Statement – MPS-09. Recertification

4. Proficiency(performance) test must include:

a. Timed swim (400 metres in 8 minutes)
b. Basic life support and first aid at an appropriate level
c. Ability to escape from grips and patient recovery
d. Patient management
e. Any skill deemed appropriate by management or the certification authority

5. Re-certification must be undertaken within a three-year period or whatever the local

jurisdiction requires, whichever is less. Re-certification requirements:
a. Where a candidate has undertaken annual proficiency (performance) tests within
the three-year period the candidate is re-certified for another year.
b. Where a candidate has not undertaken any proficiency (performance) test within
the three-year period, the candidate must re-certify in full.

DEFINITIONS

Certify: “to issue a license or certificate to provide proof as meeting a standard”

Proficient: “having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude”

Qualification: “an official record of achievement awarded on the successful completion of a

course of training”

Re-certify: “to renew the certification of, especially certification given by a licensing
board”

Test: “a series of questions, problems, or physical responses designed to

determine knowledge, intelligence, or ability”

REFERENCES
(1) ILS “Medical Priorities in Lifeguarding”, February 2006
(2) (WHO 2003) Guidelines for Safe Recreational Water Environments, Vol. 1 – Coastal and freshwaters, World Health
Organisation, September 2003, Geneva
(3) Various Lifesaving Organisation Training Manuals, including SLSA, RNLI, DLRG, USLA, SLSNZ
(4) (Turner H et al 2003) Turner, Harriet; Vogelsong, Hans; Wendling, Robert, An extra safe guard: is in-service training
for lifeguards necessary? Parks & Recreation, 7/1/2003, National Recreation and Park Association, USA
(5) (USLA 1980), Guidelines for Establishing Open-Water Recreational Beach Standards, United States Lifesaving
Association, 1980
(6) Branche CM, Stewart S. (Editors). Lifeguard Effectiveness: A Report of the Working Group. Atlanta: Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2001
(7) (Woollard et al 2004), Skill acquisition and retention in automated external defibrillator (AED) use and CPR by lay
responders: a prospective study, Woollard M, Whitfield R, Smith A, Colquhoun M, Newcombe RG, Vetter N,
Chamberlain D, Resuscitation 2004 Jan; 60(1):17-28
(8) (Woollard et al 2006), Optimal refresher training intervals for AED and CPR skills: a randomised controlled trial,
Woollard M, Whitfield R, Newcombe RG, Colquhoun M, Vetter N, Chamberlain D, Resuscitation 2006 Nov; 71(2):237-
47
(9) (Riegel B. et al 2005) Predictors of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator skill
retention. Riegel B, Birnbaum A, Aufderheide T, Thode Jr H, Henry M, Ottingham L, Swor R, American Heart
Journal, Volume 150, Issue 5, (November 2004) pp927 – 932
(10) (Riegel B. et al 2006) How well are cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator skills retained
over time? Results from the Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Trial. Riegel B, Nafziger SD, McBurnie MA, Powell J,
Ledingham R, Sehra R, Mango L, Henry MC, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-
6096, USA, Acad. Emerg. Med. 2006 Mar;13(3):254-63. Epub 2006 Feb 22.
(11) (Christenson J. et al 2007) The effect of time on CPR and automated external defibrillator skills in the Public Access
Defibrillation Trial. Christenson J, Nafziger S, Compton S, Vijayaraghavan K, Slater B, Ledingham R, Powell J,
McBurnie MA, Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Paul's Hospital, University of British Columbia, 1081 Burrard
St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, Resuscitation, 2007 Jul;74(1):52-62. Epub 2007 Feb 14

Position Statement approved by the ILS Board of Directors on 02/02/2009.

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