Frequently Asked Questions

This page aims to help you with any questions you may have about our society and unit. If your question hasn’t been answered here, feel free to get in touch with us by messaging our Facebook or Instagram pages, or by emailing our President/Unit Manager, Bethan, at bethan.hewitt@sja.org.uk.

Qualifications

We don’t run the First Aid at Work course, and to be honest we don’t know very much about it either. The FAW course is coordinated centrally by St John Ambulance, and all information about it is on their website.

No, sorry! We really have nothing to do with it.

No, our sessions are informal first aid awareness sessions. You will be taught first aid every week - starting with more basic skills (like primary and secondary survey) and progressing toward more elaborate ones (like dealing with a major incident). Although we give our most loyal members certificates of active participation* to celebrate their contribution to the society, this does not serve as a formal qualification.

*See "Society events" FAQ for more information

Volunteering

Our volunteers have an array of opportunities to choose from! The bulk of our activity consists of providing first aid at local events every week. This includes weekly sports events on campus (like matches on Cryfield pitches) and daily shifts at the A&E at George Elliot Hospital. We also collaborate with other SJA units around Coventry to cover larger-scale events (recent examples include Godiva Festival, Coloured Synergy Festival, and CVX).

We recruit our volunteers following a process coordinated by SJA’s Student Volunteering Team. Successful applicants have several avenues they can pursue (first aid, youth work, logistics...), so make sure you submit the strongest application possible! The recruitment process has undergone some changes in the last couple of years and you must be a member of our society (which you can do here) to apply to become a volunteer. Members are regularly emailed information about how they can apply.

Previous first aid training has no bearing on your becoming an SJA volunteer. Unless your previous first aid training was done to become an SJA volunteer, you will have to go through the application process outlined above. (If you are SJA-trained though, get in touch and come volunteer with us!)

Society events

Following us on social media and joining our society through the Warwick SU website (which is completely free!) is the best way to find out what we’re up to. Again, you can find all the relevant links here.

Yes - we welcome collaborations with other societies and clubs! However, to ensure all collaborations are successful, we appreciate when other societies/clubs offer something in return, and those collaborations will be prioritised. Be mindful that we have finite resources (both in terms of equipment and staff) and need to prioritise our own society and our volunteers’ events over others. We unfortunately can't say yes to every collab we're approached about because of that!

You only need to check in before every in-person First Aid sessions on the day. No pre-check-in arrangements is required, unless stated otherwise (check interested event details for more information).

We require you to check-in because:

  • We record your attendance for safety reasons in case of emergencies;

  • We also hope to reward our most loyal members with a certificate of active participation* at the end of the year. So, make sure you check-in before the start of every training session.

We will not use or disclose your information for any other purpose other than the reasons stated above (unless it is required by law to do so). If you have any questions about how your information will be managed, you can contact us here.

*This does not serve as a formal First Aid qualification.

Fundraising

Unfortunately we’re committed to fundraising for St John Ambulance, and as you’re probably aware, fundraising takes up a lot of time and resources! We’re unable to aid with fundraising for other charities due to this.