Belarusian schoolchildren have joined a unique interdepartmental project. Now high school students will know how to provide first aid to their neighbors in case of cardiac arrest. More than 20 thousand tenth-graders from all regions of the country will take the vital course.

First impressions of the participants of the "Start the Heart" project were collected:

Ksenia Razumova, a student of the chemistry and biology class of the Gomel Regional Lyceum: "I came to the Gomel State Medical University to learn how to provide first aid in case of cardiac arrest in practice. I succeeded. I hope that if I ever find myself in a similar situation, I will be able to do it correctly";

Vadim Kurlenya, a student of gymnasium №119: "I think that now I will be able to give first aid to a person".

The initiative of the specialists of the Republican Clinical Health Care Center of the Presidential Administration and the Belarusian Society for Simulation Training in Medicine resonated in the hearts of young Belarusians last weekend. Every adult and teenager should have the skill to bring a person in critical condition back to life. Because in a decisive situation the count is minutes, if not seconds.

Irina Abelskaya, Chief Doctor of the Republican Clinical Health Care Center of the Presidential Administration, said: "Everyone will be able to try and evaluate their manual skills, they will be corrected by specialists. In fact, manual, practical memory remains for very long years. It is important for every person: adult, young, experienced, in old age, because the most basic task is life, to save life. And this is not only the task of people with specialized medical education. So here is the main goal and objective of the "Start the Heart" campaign - to educate as many people as possible".

The project "Start the Heart" is more than an action - it is a duty of not indifferent youth. It is possible that among today's high school students there are future applicants to colleges and universities, who will make a conscious choice in favor of medical professions, and the new project is an opportunity to get one step closer to this goal.

According to Deputy Minister of Education of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Kadlubay, the implementation of the project "Start the Heart" is a direct career guidance for schoolchildren. "They will get acquainted with the equipment of simulation centers, with the profession of resuscitation doctors, employees of medical institutions. The new project in no way replaces the pre-conscription and medical training course in grades 10-11, it is a supplement. First aid is a very important skill that can save a single life. During medical and pre-conscription training, 10th graders learn the basics of first aid, but here we are talking about an hour and a half program, the key point of which is to practice practical skills. The sites will have state-of-the-art equipment, mannequins, and people who work in simulation centers and are highly skilled professionals in this area can deliver information in an accessible language".

Until May 11, young people will be invited to attend classes on Saturdays. Here they will learn basic first aid skills for health and life-threatening conditions. The theory will be practiced in practice, specifically on modern training devices and simulators, as well as solving a situational problem in real time.