Skip to main content

You are here:

BLS Instructor Course

The Irish Heart Foundation/American Heart Association BLS Instructor Course is designed to teach the methods to effectively instruct others in all Basic Life Support (BLS) resuscitation courses to healthcare provider level.
The BLS Instructor Course is of two days duration and essence of this course is to become proficient in running CPR/BLS/AED Courses. During the course you will practice facilitating a class with lots of role play. The course is building on class facilitation. Practical skills examined include:

  • Adult, infant and child one person CPR
  • Adult two person CPR – adult, infant and child foreign body airway obstruction
  • Recovery position
  • AED training
  • Bag valve mask devices
  • Pocket masks
  • Barrier devices
  • Manikin hygiene

To successfully complete the course practical skills must be successfully demonstrated and instructor competencies must be achieved.

Irish Heart Foundation only recognises training done through affiliated training sites. Therefore all certified BLS instructors must be affilated to a training site in order to have any courses they teach recognised. IHF course MCQs and course completion cards are only issued through the training site co-ordinators.

Course Prerequisites
In order to participate in the BLS Instructors Course you must have a current Healthcare Provider Certification and have completed the core instructor interactive course which can be taken at home on your PC and takes 6-8 hours to complete. Participants should be proficient in the above listed practical skills prior to the course.

Post Course Certification Requirements
Once the BLS Instructor Course is successfully completed new BLS Instructors must successfully demonstrate their teaching skills while instructing any of the BLS Provider Courses. Monitoring must be done within 90 days of completing the instructor course and monitoring must be completed by a current BLS Faculty member or Instructor Trainer.

Re-certification Guidelines
A BLS Instructor is required to re-certify every two years in order to stay current as an instructor. Certification expires at the end of the month two years from the date of the initial training course or last re-certification course.
Re-certification must be done before current certification lapses otherwise the Instructor will be required to complete the full BLS Instructor Course again.

Instructors must teach a minimum of four BLS courses within the two-year period of their certification and in order for a BLS Instructor to re-certify the following must be completed:

  • Provider skills must be successfully demonstrated.
  • Dates and venues of at least four provider courses taught in the past two years must be given.
  • Instructor must be monitored within 90 days of completion of skills assessment.
  • Our instructors can be monitored teaching a course and then their skills assessed following that course.
  • All original monitor forms must be submitted to the Irish Heart Foundation and a photocopy retained by the instructor or training site.
  • PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT SEND REMINDER NOTICES WHEN CERTIFICATION IS DUE TO LAPSE SO IT IS THE INSTRUCTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THEY RE-CERTIFY BEFORE THEIR CERTIFICATION LAPSES.

Course Description
The objective of the course is to enable participants to teach CPR for Family and Friends, teach Heartsaver CPR, teach Heartsaver AED (Adult and Paediatric for all courses), administer the above courses and keep appropriate records, to remediate skills and answer reasonable questions. The Heartsaver Instructor Course will be of two days duration.

Please note candidates completing the Heartsaver Instructor Course will be qualified to teach at layperson level only, not at healthcare provider level therefore this course is only applicable for those wishing to teach layperson CPR and AED courses. There will be no upgrade course and anyone wishing to teach healthcare provider courses will still be required to complete the full BLS Instructor course.

Course Prerequisites
Candidates will be required to complete the full Heartsaver AED Course (including adult, infant and child modules) as a prerequisite to attend the Heartsaver Instructor Corse. In addition to this candidates will also be required to complete a core instructor course which is a 6-8 hour interactive course which is completed on your home PC.

All potential instructors must have an in date provider card of their discipline specific course. They must then complete the core instructor course (6-8 hour interactive course completed on your PC). When course is complete you will print your certificate of completion.

Post Course Certification Requirements
Once the Heartsaver Instructor Course is successfully completed new Heartsaver Instructors must successfully demonstrate their teaching skills while instructing any of the BLS Provider Courses. Monitoring must be done within 90 days of completing the instructor course and monitoring must be completed by a current BLS Faculty member or

Instructor Trainer.Re-certification Guidelines
A Heartsaver Instructor is required to re-certify every two years in order to stay current as an instructor. Certification expires at the end of the month two years from the date of the initial training course or last re-certification course.

Re-certification must be done before current certification lapses otherwise the Instructor will be required to complete the full Heartsaver Instructor Course again. Instructors must teach a minimum of four courses within the two-year period of their certification and in order for a Heartsaver Instructor to re-certify the following must be completed:

  • Provider skills must be successfully demonstrated.
  • Dates and venues of at least four provider courses taught in the past two years must be given.
  • Instructor must be monitored within 90 days of completion of skills assessment.

Instructors can be monitored teaching a course and then their skills assesed following that course.
All original monitor forms must be submitted to the Irish Heart Foundation and a photocopy retained by the instructor or training site.
For details of upcoming Heartsaver/CFR Community Instructor Courses please click here.
PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT SEND REMINDER NOTICES WHEN CERTIFICATION IS DUE TO LAPSE SO IT IS THE INSTRUCTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THEY RE-CERTIFY BEFORE THEIR CERTIFICATION LAPSES

Next course date for 2020

Please email Suzanne Clear for for further information: s.clear@stmichaels.ie