CANADIAN RED CROSS INSTRUCTOR DEVELOPMENT

The Red Cross is constantly looking for new great trainers to help citizens help others in times of need. If you have strong first aid skills and wish to take on a challenging role as a First Aid Instructor, we are here to help you meet this goal and become an effective and inspiring instructor.

Candidates must hold the certificate at the level to which they want to instruct.  That is, you can become a Wilderness Instructor only if you are a certified wilderness first aider.  Furthermore, your skills need to be strong, and, although not a pre-requisite, it is best to have experience delivering first aid in a real-life role. Red Cross does have a path (Previous Learning Assessment Review, PLAR) for those who already teach first aid for other training bodies, and for professional teachers. 

Step 1

Register for an Instructor Development course, preferably contact us, as building and qualifying professional and inspiring instructors is a process. Completing this step is the Skills Assessment.  You need to have your skills assessed by a qualified Red Cross First Aid Instructor (Teaching Experience Supervisor, TES), or Instructor Trainer.

Step 2

Fundamentals of Instruction, Online, is about 16-hours of online home study that needs to be completed prior to attending the Fundamentals of Instructor classroom session.  This is where we learn about the techniques trainers will use to impart first aid lore in a fun, safe, interactive setting. This classroom session is about 16-hours and is usually a weekend. Successful completion of the Fundamentals qualifies you to pursue …

Step 3

Discipline Specific Classroom session is your route to teaching in your chosen discipline(s). here you choose your path: Core Programs, Professional Responder Programs, or Wilderness Programs.  Once qualified you may teach in the discipline you qualified in, but you may not teach Core Programs if you have only qualified as a Professional Responder. The discipline Specific course is a 16-hour (2-day) course in each case and covers materials and techniques to teach in each respective audience.

Step 4

The Teaching Experience is the final step on your path to being a fully qualified instructor. Under the supervision of a Teaching Experience Supervisor, you must successfully teach a course specific to your chosen path. 

Step 5

Informally continue to seek new and interesting ways to convey first aid skills and knowledge to your students. Practice humility and acceptance, through introspective learning and continual professional development, so that you bring your best learnings back to re-certify and grow the communal skills of our instructor cadre within the Red Cross movement.