Primary Lifeguard Duties

Primary Duties (Enforce Rules, Surveillance, equipment, consent, part of a team)

The job of a lifeguard should not be taken lightly. The responsibilities that come along with the job are important. The primary job of a lifeguard is to watch over, prevent, and assist with injuries that may occur in the general pool area. This includes the pool basin, pool deck, and bathhouse facilities.

• Proper Surveillance and injury prevention actions

• Recognition of common signs and signals of an emergency

• Acting upon those signs and signals quickly and efficiently

• Continuation of care until further help arrives

A. Education and Corrective Action

One very important job a lifeguard has in accident prevention is through education. Pool signage is there for people’s safety, but people do not always take notice or follow the rules. Lifeguards must take corrective action in situations where an injury may occur if left unnoticed. In these cases, the lifeguard whistle is your best friend and should be used to prevent further actions that may cause injuries. Lifeguards should make sure to not just reprimand individuals but also educate them as to which specific rule has been broken and how they can avoid breaking such rules in the future. Make sure that you are swift and concise in your education andcorrective action so that you do not waste unnecessary time and become unnecessarily distracted. If an individual needs further education about pool rules, make sure to direct them to a fellow lifeguard or lifeguard manager.

B. Proper Surveillance over the facility

Constant vigilant surveillance of the pool area and its patrons is one of the most important duties of a lifeguard. Lifeguards must work together as a team to properly watch over all areas of the facility. Lifeguards must stay alert at all times and leave no blind spots unchecked by constantly scanning the areas in their designated stand or station.

How to Proper Scan:

Maintain Constant Motion: Lifeguards must ensure that they constantly and effectively scan all areas of their station. This means actively scanning with direct frontal contact with swimmers. Head rotation is a key to ensuring that direct surveillance is maintained. Lifeguards must focus on specific swimmers with frontal vision while looking out for movement and possible change with peripheral vision.

Keep Focused: Lifeguards must remain alert and focused on properly scanning at all times. The dangers of distractions must be ignored. Focus on your area of responsibility not activity outside the facility, on the pool deck, or noise and conversation that may be taking place near your position. Constant hydration breaks and the use of sunglasses are often effective ways to stay alert and focused as well.

Scan Proper Areas: Lifeguards must make sure to pay special attention to certain areas such as under diving boards, slides, main drains, underwater, ladders and steps. Also, take into account the progression of swimmers. Make note of those that are tiring or inexperienced since they may need assistance.

C. Coverage of Your Area of Responsibility:

Knowing your area of responsibility is key in securing the facility and working well with the lifeguard team. This will cut down on confusion and delay in the rescue sequence that can cause unnecessary injury. Whether your position is in an elevated lifeguard chair or on deck level, always keep in mind your area of responsibility. If certain areas of responsibility are obstructed, make sure to change position so that every area is visible. Lifeguards need to rotate from station to station as well as receive breaks in between to stay sharp. It is important to remember that during a rotation, at least one lifeguard should have their eyes on the pool at all times. Pass on any pertinent information about a possible swimmer that may need more attention to the lifeguard that fills your spot so that they may be better prepared or specific hazards that exist in that area of responsibility.

D. Recognition of Common Signs and Signals of an Emergency

• Distressed

• Active Drowning Victim

• Passive Drowning Victim

• Cramps/Distressed

Since proper victim recognition is a key element of facility surveillance, it is important to accurately assess these signals promptly. Sometimes the signs and signals to an emergency are easily recognized. Victims are sometimes able to call out, cry, or use physical movement such as splashing to indicate that they require assistance. Bystanders may also bring attention to those that need assistance. Lifeguards must be able to differentiate the difference between simple playful splashing to that of a distressed swimmer. That of someone simply out of breath and someone who may be having a heart attack. One can never be too cautious. A key indicator of victim recognition in the water is forward motion.

Normal Swimmer: Although different swimmers often swim at different speeds using different strokes, forward motion is key to staying afloat. Those individuals indicating progressive forward motion, nearly horizontal body position, and sustained breathing are classified as normal swimmers.

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Distressed Swimmer: Lifeguards should first recognize a swimmer that is in distress either from fatigue, muscle cramps, inexperienced swimming skills, or possible injury while entering the pool. Distressed swimmers differ from normal swimmers due to the presence of a more vertical position in the water. There will be little to no forward motion in the water. They may also call out for help and make eye contact with those around them.

Active Drowning: If assistance is not provided, victims may then progress into Active drowning in which they are no longer able to progress in a forward motion of any kind and are usually vertical in the water simply trying to get air and stay afloat. The instinct to capture short bursts of air will overcome the shouts and cries that may be present in a distressed swimmer.

Passive Drowning: If assistance still does not occur, the victim will progress into an inactive passive state. Passive victims are motionless with no forward motion or intentional movement of any kind. At this point, the victim has become unconscious and needs assistance immediately. Victims will often remain floating in the water and return to the horizontal position. If long periods have passed, victims may even become submerged.

Progress often happens quickly. That is why it is the job of the lifeguard to act as soon as an emergency occurs. Acting upon those signs and signals quickly and efficiently: Assisting Victims

While surveying the pool area, lifeguards must not only be able to quickly and correctly identify when an emergency arises, but also know what specific action whether it be splinting an injury, applying a bandage, rescue breathing, or CPR. Lifeguards must know when to take action and what action should be taken depending on the circumstances such as location in the pool, possible head, neck, or back injuries, and severity of the injury. Wasting time activating the lifeguard team for a simple cut or bruise can also backfire when a lifeguard does not take proper care in stabilizing a head, neck, or back injury properly or summoning EMS personnel in the presence of a heart attack when they might believe it is simply heartburn. When the cause of injury is not known, make sure to initiate a head-to-toe survey of the victim. Check all areas of the body, even hard-to-see areas such as the scalp, ears and abdomen for possible internal damage. Ask the victim questions such as “What is the last thing you remember, what is the last thing you ate, are you taking any medication, are you allergic to any substances or insects.” Stay with the victim until assistance is given or further help arrives.

All other duties should be seen as secondary to these primary actions. Things like facility cleaning and maintenance, pool ID checks, and filling out report forms should all be seen as secondary to the above primary duties of education and corrective action, surveillance, recognizing signs and signals of an emergency, and taking proper action to assist victims.