First Aid & CPR Instructor

The Canadian Red Cross First Aid Instructor Development Program trains and certifies Instructors to organize and deliver First Aid & CPR courses.

The Instructor Development Program trains Instructors to apply an individualized approach focusing on injury prevention, learning styles and a variety of instructional techniques that consider the abilities, ages and needs of each participant. Our First Aid & CPR Instructors are trained to encourage each participant's personal rate of achievement, recognizing this will vary from one person to the next.

There are five steps:

Step 1: Evaluate Skills and Check Prerequisites

Instructor candidates work with an Instructor Development Centre to confirm that they have met the program prerequisites and possess a strong understanding of the typical first aid skills needed to be successful as an Instructor.

Step 2: Fundamentals of Instruction

  • Online approximately   8 hours (to be completed prior to the in-class portion)
  • Classroom                     14 hours 30 minutes

This consists of an online component, where candidates learn the fundamentals of instruction, and a classroom component, where they apply the fundamentals under the guidance of an Instructor Trainer.

Step 3: Discipline-Specific Classroom Component

  • Classroom                           14 hours 30 minutes

The candidates will complete the in-class discipline-specific First Aid and CPR stream to enable them to teach (Red Cross Standard First Aid, Emergency First Aid & CPR).

Step 4: Teaching Experience

  • Online approximately   30-45 minutes
  • Classroom                     Can vary depending on Instructor's skill level

The Teaching Experience consists of an online component and a classroom component. The online component details what to expect during your Teaching Experience and provides guidance on how to prepare for it. The classroom component offers the experience of teaching in a dynamic classroom environment.

Step 5: Certification

The Red Cross is committed to developing and supporting high-quality instructors who focus on the needs of the learners in our classrooms. We have learned that investing in our instructors leads to a better learning environment for participants, resulting in more confident first aiders in our community. First Aid Instructor certifications are issued by the Canadian Red Cross and will be issued when all elements of the training are complete and signed off by the assigned First Aid Instructor Trainer.

Course Materials

  • Fundamentals of Instruction – First Aid Programs (online component)
  • Fundamentals of Instruction – First Aid Programs (eBook)
  • Fundamentals of Instruction – First Aid Programs Workbook