When we hear of the term first aid, we often think that it is something to do with making sure people who are injured are treated and that should be the end of it. What is important is to evaluate the seriousness of an injury and if first aid is not a sufficient measure to lead to complete recovery, further medical treatment must be sought.

But first aid is not about complete and comprehensive treatment. That is the job of the doctor. The aim of first aid as primarily to preserve life. This means that first aid applied to someone may not be the final medical treatment a person receives, but instead is the first and treatment should be followed up by qualified medical professionals.

So you can related this to an arm fracture. As a first aider, your aim would be to tie an arm sling. It would be wishful thinking to leave the problem at that and not seek further medical attention. Instead, a follow up with a doctor who would do an x-ray and give the right diagnostics and correct further treatment would be required for full recovery. So the aim of the first aider in this case would be to reduce pain to the causality.

For minor injuries like cuts and bruises, first aid administered would be the final form of treatment as it would be safe to expect the injury to recover on its own after treatment.