Course Completion and Certification - First Aid/CPR/AED

To successfully complete the First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor course, the instructor candidate must:

• Successfully complete the American Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor course online session.
• Attend and actively participate in the in-person session.
• Successfully complete the First Aid/CPR/AED skill practice and polish.
• Successfully complete class activities, including the required practice teaching assignments.
• Demonstrate instructor-level skill competency in all skills.

Instructor candidates are to be made aware of the requirements when they enroll for the course and again during the course introduction. Instructor Trainers are required to provide ongoing feedback to instructor candidates about their performance throughout the course. Feedback should be ongoing so there are no surprises if their performance is evaluated as unacceptable.

First Aid/CPR/AED Skill Competency

To complete the course requirements and receive a completion certificate, an instructor candidate must be able to complete all required skills during the skill practice and polish without any coaching or assistance. The purpose of the practice and polish session is to quickly review the skills and observe instructor candidates’ skill performance to ensure they can perform the skills to meet the standards. An instructor candidate’s performance is “proficient” or “not proficient” based on the performance of the critical components of a skill that are necessary to meet the objective. It is expected that they must be able to perform all the skills near standard and can correct quickly to standard during the skill practice and polish prior to continuing in the course.

Practice Teaching Assignments

Each instructor candidate is expected to complete two practice teaching assignments successfully:

• Practice Teaching Assignment I: Lecture and Skill Practice
• Practice Teaching Assignment II: Assessment Scenarios
• The Practice Teaching Feedback and Evaluation Form includes the criteria for successful practice teaching assignment sessions.

Criteria for Grading Instructor Candidates

Instructor candidates are assigned one of the following grades:

• Successful is entered for an instructor candidate who has successfully completed the online session, attended and participated in the in-person session including all activities, demonstrated proficient competency in all required First Aid/ CPR/AED skills and practice teaching assignments.
• Unsuccessful is entered for an instructor candidate who has not met course objectives and/or has not successfully completed the online session, attended and participated in the in-person session including all activities, and demonstrated proficient competency in all required First Aid/CPR/AED skills and practice teaching assignments. If an instructor candidate does not meet the criteria for course completion and certification, provide the instructor candidate with information about course topics and skills where remediation is needed. Advise the instructor candidate that they can repeat the course if they so choose.
• Not Evaluated is entered as the final grade for an instructor candidate who is not attending the course with the intention of receiving a completion certificate. This grade should not be substituted for “Unsuccessful” for an instructor candidate who attempts certification but cannot pass the completion requirements. An instructor candidate who chooses to audit must make their intent known to the instructor trainer at the beginning of the class.

First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor Certification and Eligibility to Teach

Certified First Aid/CPR/AED instructors are eligible to teach the following American Red Cross courses and modules:

• First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor-Led Training and Blended Learning courses
• Skill Boost: Asthma and Quick-Relief Medication Administration
• Skill Boost: Anaphylaxis and Epinephrine Auto-Injector Administration
• Skill Boost: Opioid Overdose and Naloxone Administration
• Bloodborne Pathogens Training

With additional training, certified instructors are also eligible to teach:

• Skill Boost: Life-Threatening Bleeding and Tourniquet Application
• Skill Boost: Head, Neck, Muscle, Bone, Joint Injuries and Splinting
• Other Red Cross basic-level courses