Interested in Becoming a CPR Instructor?

The main goal of our Finish Strong CPR & Medical Training Site and of the American Heart Association (AHA) is to save as many lives as possible. To that end, the AHA is committed to teaching lifesaving skills such as CPR.

It’s crucial that CPR Instructors be prepared both to teach well and to test their students well. Faculty have the responsibility to pass candidates when, and only when, candidates are ready. If candidates aren’t ready, they won’t be able to teach and test students well, and students may miss out on learning lifesaving skills.

The goal of the CPR Instructor course is to prepare candidates to teach Basic Life Support (BLS) classes. Candidates should be competent in all of the following:

• Skills: Instructors need to be proficient in all the skills of the disciplines they teach.
• Course delivery: Instructors need to teach AHA materials correctly and as they were intended.
• Testing: Instructors have to be able to test students effectively.
• Professionalism: Instructors need to maintain a high standard of ethics and professionalism when teaching AHA courses.
• Program administration: Instructors need to be able to manage time, space, materials, and paperwork in compliance

The Finish Strong CPR American Heart Association (AHA) BLS Instructor course is an intensive course for those individuals who have successfully completed the discipline-specific provider course (AHA Basic Life Support).

This course is designed to train instructor candidates to conduct provider and update courses on the latest AHA guidelines and skills. Instructor candidates should exemplify integrity, demonstrate strong ethics, communicate clearly, and model a dedication to quality training. Instructor candidates must meet certain requirements before taking the instructor course.

Prior to attending the BLS classroom portion of the instructor course, all instructor candidates must:

• Be at least 18 years of age.
• Have a current/official AHA BLS Provider course completion card.
• Be proficient in the skills of BLS.
• **Complete the AHA BLS Instructor Essentials Heartcode Course
• Complete the registration form and pay the appropriate fee.

To become an AHA BLS CPR Instructor, candidates need to complete an online module. This module is essentially "prerequisite" or preparation for the classroom course which you teach. The "pre-requisite" allows candidates to maximize their hands-on and practice time with you in the classroom.

There are 6 steps to becoming a BLS CPR instructor:

1. Candidates must be approved for alignment with an AHA Training Site or Center such as Finish Strong CPR and Medical Training. You must contact the CPR Program Coordinator via phone or email for approval of alignment. 
2. Candidates complete Instructor Candidate Application and must provide proof of current BLS Provider certification. The application will be provided to the instructor candidate by FS CPR & MEdical Training after registration. 
3. Candidates must complete the instructor essentials 2-hour online course. Candidates must EMAIL the completion certificate prior and current BLS provider card in order to be eligible for registration. Note: the online course requires a key code to be accessed.
4. Candidates then attend the instructor-led (in person) portion of the AHA BLS instructor course.
5. At the end of the instructor-led class, candidates must successfully pass a 25 question CPR instructor exam which covers information covered in class, as well as information from the instructor manual, which is purchased at the FS CPR SHOP and not included in the cost of the instructor course.
6. After successful completion of the course, instructor candidates are eligible to schedule a monitoring session within 6 months of the date of the instructor course. Instructors will be monitored by  our Training Center faculty. After successful completion of monitoring, session instructors will be certified to teach AHA BLS courses for a two year period in accordance to AHA guidelines. Failure to comply with AHA guidelines and training center policies can and will result in termination of alignment with Finish Strong CPR & Medical Training. 

The registration fee for this course is $400 with an optional add on of $50 for BLS Provider certification update. Registration includes in-person meetings, zoom workshop, alignment processing, instructor monitoring, in-person student materials and skills equipment (use during class) and an Enrollware class management system account. Registration does not include the BLS instructor manual or Instructor videos and equipment (mannikins, AED trainers, student manuals, etc). The manual can be purchased at the FS CPR SHOP in eBook format. 

In rare cases, classes may be canceled due to very low enrollment or weather conditions. If this occurs, students will be notified and will have the option of attending another class or request a refund within 1 week of cancellation.

All instructor level courses are nonefundable. Please contact us with any questions you may have prior to registration. No exceptions on this policy. Registration does not guaruntee certification and students must show proficiency in BLS skills and teaching in order to successfully earn instructor certification status.

Qualified students with physical or documented learning disabilities have the right to free accommodations to ensure equal access to educational opportunities at Truckee Meadows Community College. This service is free of charge to the student.TMCC's Disability Resource Center handles all accommodation requests for students in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Requests for assistance must be made at least 5 working days in advance of the in-person course date.

The American Heart Association (AHA) strongly promotes knowledge and proficiency in CPR and has developed instructional materials for this purpose. Its use in an instructional course does not represent sponsorship by the American Heart Association. Any fees charged for such a course do not represent income to the AHA.

Our CPR certification classes are designed to teach you how to respond to cardiac and breathing emergencies. We offer both online and in-person classes.