What is a prerequisite to becoming an aha instructor

So, you have a drive to help OSF ECIEMS and the American Heart Association help reach their goals in reducing cardiovascular disease incidence and deaths? You have a commitment to high quality education and proving people with the skills needed to save a life? You are in the right place! OSF ECIEMS offers instructor courses for qualified candidates in each of the disciplines we teach.

Who should take this course?

Qualified instructors will possess the 5 core competencies defined by the AHA:

The AHA has defined these 5 core competencies for all instructor candidates:

Skills: Instructors need to demonstrate mastery in all skills for the courses they teach. This includes both the cognitive skills as well as the psychomotor skills.
Course delivery: Instructors need to teach AHA materials correctly and as outlined in the appropriate Instructor Manual and Lesson Maps.
Testing: Instructors must 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 with AHA guidelines.

What will I learn?

Identify the prerequisites to becoming an AHA Instructor
Describe the usability of the PAM
Describe the core competencies of an AHA Instructor
Describe the 5 steps of the AHA Instruction Cycle
Identify resources available to an AHA Instructor
Describe how to use discipline-specific AHA instructor materials
Identify discipline specific course formats available to students for completion
Describe discipline-specific course completion requirements
Describe discipline-specific flexibility option available to an AHA Instructor within the course
Describe the requirements for how to maintain an AHA Instructor status
Demonstrate effective AHA Instructor feedback and remediation techniques
Demonstrate structured debriefing skills (not applicable to Heartsaver®)
Demonstrate the administration of skills testing with the use of the skills testing checklists.

Interested in becoming an Instructor?

Interested instructors must complete the following prior to acceptance to the hands-on classroom portion of the instructor program.

• Be accepted by an AHA TC before taking the course
• Have current provider status in the discipline they wish to teach
• Have completed an Instructor Candidate Application
• Complete the Core Instructor Course

Contact Nathan Gorman the Training Center Coordinator to learn more today!

How to become an AHA CPR Instructor

Prerequisites

Candidate must present a current AHA Basic Life Support CPR course completion card.
Candidate must have a willingness and desire to teach in accordance with the scientific and program guidelines of the AHA.
Candidate must make a commitment to teach a minimum of two (2) courses per year according to AHA guidelines.

Course Requirements

Candidate must attend and successfully complete the instructor course.
Candidate must properly instruct a Basic Life Support course within 90 days of instructor course. Candidate will receive instructor certification when this criteria is met.

For dates and times, contact Ann Floyd at 325-670-4304 or .

National Institute for Healthcare Education

Become an AHA Instructor

BLS, ACLS, PALS, CPR, & 1st Aid

2 ways to complete AHA Instructor Training

There are now two ways to complete the classroom portion of the AHA Instructor course. The traditional method is that you attend and complete the classroom portion and the instructor monitoring in a real classroom. AHA now also, allows this portion of the AHA Instructor training to be done virtually if certain requirements are met. These requirements include the instructor candidate must have feedback manikins and all the equipment required for the provider skill practice and testing present with them at their location. We are now scheduling these virtual classes every month. If you don't have the necessary equipment please contact us about solutions that include equipment rental shipped to you or you can purchase manikins & other training equipment at the same discount we get (15% & FREE shipping from Worldpoint). To schedule either a VIRTUAL INSTRUCTOR COURSE or CLASSROOM INSTRUCTOR COURSE please scroll down and click on the appropriate link. Not all locations around the country currently have instructor courses scheduled but we do have VIRTUAL INSTRUCTOR CLASSES SCHEDULED EVERY MONTH BELOW.

To become an AHA BLS Instructor requires several steps:

Course prerequisite: Have a current AHA BLS Provider card.

1. Complete the BLS Instructor Essentials. This AHA online course must be completed before attending the classroom BLS Instructor course.

2. Complete the NIHE BLS Instructor Orientation. This is a mandatory online course that must be completed before the Instructor candidate may attend the classroom portion of the BLS Instructor course.

3. Complete the classroom BLS Instructor Course. This course covers the curriculum, administration, and management of an AHA BLS course. This can now be done live in a classroom or virtually.

4. Monitored student teaching at the BLS Instructor Course. This can now be done live in a classroom or virtually.

5. Affiliate with an AHA Training Center. All Instructor candidates who successfully complete the entire NIHE Instructor program will be affiliated with NIHE.

All of these steps are included in our BLS Instructor package (except the prerequisite BLS Provider), which also includes the required BLS Instructor Manual. We occasionally also, offer a LOW COST BLS Instructor that includes the NIHE BLS Instructor Orientation, the classroom portion, the instructor monitoring but doesn't include the online Instructor Essentials and the BLS Instructor manual. The student must provide their own online Instructor Essentials and BLS Instructor manual in these courses. We offer the full BLS Instructor package courses in Southern California; in Vacaville for our Northern California instructors; Pearl City, HI; Orlando, Florida; Dallas, TX, Waco, TX; Las Vegas, NV; and in Cottage Grove, Oregon at our company headquarters. If you don't find a course scheduled in the location of your choice or if you want a class scheduled for your city please contact our Program Director at If you have any questions about becoming an AHA Training Site or Course Director please email our Program Director at or click on the appropriate link below to register online.

To become an AHA ACLS Instructor requires several steps:

Course prerequisite: Have a current AHA BLS Instructor card, a current AHA ACLS Provider card, and be affiliated in good standing with an AHA Training Center (we can help with this).

1. Complete the ACLS Instructor Essentials. This AHA online course must be completed before attending the classroom ACLS Instructor course.

2. Complete the NIHE ACLS Instructor Orientation. This is a mandatory online course that must be completed before the Instructor candidate may attend the classroom portion of the ACLS Instructor course.

3. Complete the classroom ACLS Instructor Course. This course covers the curriculum, administration, and management of an AHA ACLS course. This can now be done live in a classroom or virtually.

4. Monitored student teaching at the ACLS Instructor Course. This can now be done live in a classroom or virtually.

5. Affiliate with an AHA Training Center. All Instructor Candidates who successfully complete the entire ACLS NIHE Instructor program will be affiliated with NIHE.

All of these steps are included in our ACLS Instructor package (except the prerequisites) which also, includes the ACLS Instructor Manual. We offer this course in Southern California, Orlando, Florida, and in Vacaville for our Northern California instructors. If you have any questions becoming an AHA Training Site or Course Director please email our Program Director at or click on the appropriate link below to register online.

To become an AHA PALS Instructor requires several steps.

Course prerequisite: Have a current AHA BLS Instructor card, a current AHA PALS Provider card, and be affiliated in good standing with an AHA Training Center (we can help with this)

1. Complete the PALS Instructor Essentials. This AHA online course must be completed before attending the classroom PALS Instructor course.

2. Complete the NIHE PALS Instructor Orientation. This is a mandatory online course that must be completed before the Instructor candidate may attend the classroom portion of the PALS Instructor course.

3. Complete the classroom PALS Instructor Course. This course covers the curriculum, administration, and management of an AHA PALS course. This can now be done live in a classroom or virtually.

4. Monitored student teaching. This can now be done live in a classroom or virtually.

5. Affiliate with an AHA Training Center. All Instructor Candidates who successfully complete the entire NIHE PALS Instructor program will be affiliated with NIHE.

All of these steps are included in our PALS Instructor package (except the prerequisites), which also includes the PALS Instructor Manual. We offer this course in Southern California at our Colton/Loma Linda location, Orlando, Florida, and in Vacaville for our Northern California instructors. If you have any questions regarding becoming an AHA Training Site or Course Director please email our Program Director at or click on the appropriate link below to register online.or click on the appropriate link below to register online.

#1 ACLS Review/ Prep Course: www.MasterACLS.com

This site has a complete ACLS Algorithms knowledge library, hundreds of practice ACLS questions that mirror the actual ACLS exam, flashcards, dozens of video lectures, practice megacodes, complete ACLS pharmacology, megacode video simulator with lots of scenarios and much more! You even get nursing CE for completing all the activities. For less than $14 you can do a fast review or complete in-depth study. This is the best ACLS Prep/Review site available today.

800-773-8895

*The American Heart Association strongly promotes knowledge & proficiency in BLS, ACLS, & PALS & has developed instructional materials for this purpose. Use of these materials in an educational course does not represent course sponsorship by the American Heart Association. Any fees charged for such a course, except for a portion of fees needed for AHA course material, do not represent income to the Association.

Which resource provides AHA instructor's with access to the Program Administration Manual?

A: The digital edition of the PAM is available on the AHA Instructor Network via the navigation item labeled “PAM.”

What are the AHA core competencies for instructor candidates?

Testing: Instructors must 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 with AHA guidelines.

What are the 5 steps of the AHA instruction cycle?

A: The 5 steps of the AHA Instruction Cycle are prepare, teach, test and remediate, close, and keep current. More information can be found on each step of the AHA Instruction Cycle in the online portion of the Instructor Essentials Course.

What do you need to teach ACLS?

A: The AHA requires that instructors be at least 18 years of age to teach Heartsaver and BLS courses. ACLS, PALS and PEARS Instructors must be at least 18 years of age and licensed or certified in a healthcare occupation where the skills are within the provider's scope of practice.