Becoming a Heartsaver CPR & First Aid Instructor

Whether you are an individual wishing to become a CPR instructor or a company wondering if it is cost effective to conduct in-house CPR training, the information in this article will provide you with a good idea of the time and monetary commitment necessary to become or train a CPR instructor.  

Heartsaver CPR & First Aid Instructor Course Time Commitment

AHA Adult, Child, Infant CPR/AED & First Aid Training* 4.5 hours
American Heart Association Heartsaver Instructor Essentials Course** 3 hours
Reviewing Instructor Manual & Student Manual 1.5 hours

Practing CPR & First Aid Skills, Reviewing Video, Reviewing SkillsCheck Forms***

2 hours
Instructor Training 8 hours
Preparation for Course Monitoring 2 hours
Instructor Course Monitoring**** 5 hours
Total Time 26 hours

*AHA Adult, Child, Infant CPR/AED & First Aid Training: To become an American Heart Association Heartsaver CPR/First Aid Instructor, potential candidates must have a current American Heart Association Adult, Child, Infant CPR/AED & First Aid certification card. If they do not have a current card, the training to obtain a new one takes 4.5 hours to complete through CPR Tacoma.

**American Heart Association Instructor Essentials Course: Upon course registration, instructor candidates will receive an "American Heart Association Heartsaver Instructor Essentials" course access code. This online program must be completed at home before the day of the instructor training course and takes about 2 hours to complete. 

***Practing CPR & First Aid Skills, Reviewing Video, Reviewing Skills Check Forms: Instructor candidates must do additional preparatory work for their instructor course by insuring they are both proficient with their own skills and able to effectively evaluate the skills of others. CPR Tacoma encourages instructor candidates to audit additional CPR and first aid classes conducted at our facility at no extra charge. 

****Instructor Course Monitoring: After the instructor training, candidates will be monitored teaching an actual CPR class to the public at CPR Tacoma. This session usually takes place two weeks after the instructor training course, and must be completed within 6 months of taking the instructor course if the candidate cannot make the pre-scheduled monitor date.

 

Teaching Classes: Preparation / Clean Up and Administrative Time Commitment

Advance Class Preparation (ordering gloves, face shields, books, etc) 1 hour
Class Preparation (printing out class forms, setting up classroom and projector, setting out CPR and first aid equipment) 1 hour
Teaching an Adult/Child/Infant CPR & First Aid Class 4.5 hrs
Classroom and Manikin Clean Up 0.5 hrs
Paperwork (scanning skills forms, filling out roster uploading to CPR Tacoma Instructor Portal) 1 hour
Total Time 8 hours

 

Instructor Renewal Training and Instructor Update Time Commitment

Heartsaver Adult, Child, Infant CPR & First Aid Recertification (every 2 years) 4.5 hours
Heartsaver Instructor Renewal (every 2 years) 4.5 hours
Total Time (every 2 years) 9 hours

The American Heart Association requires that student maintain their Heartsaver CPR & First aid certification card current in order to teach. This, in addition to taking the Heartsaver Instructor Renewal course will be done once every two years.

Please visit our Heartsaver Instructor Renewal page for current rates. Between renewals Instructors must read all correspondences from their Training Center as well as from the American Heart Association throughout the year. Every five years instructors will be required to take an online update when the new CPR and first aid protocols are released.

 

Initial Financial Investment (Costs are approximate and subject to change)

Adult, Child, Infant CPR/AED & First Aid Certification w/ Student Manual $92
Heartsaver Instructor Training $295
Heartsaver Teaching Materials (instructor manual, course DVD, stopwatch) $230
Annual Training Center Alignment Fee $99
4 Adult Manikins, 4 AED Trainers, 12 Pockets Masks, Face Shields $2000
4 Infant Manikins $450
Gloves, Epi Pen Trainers, Gauze, Bandages $100
Approximate Initial Cost with Minimal Equipment $3266

If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call at 206-504-3280, or email us at cpr@cprseattle.com.