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Complete the AHA BLS Instructor Questionaire
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Hold a current BLS Provider certificate
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Complete the AHA
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Purchase and complete the Instructor Essential Online Course: https://shopcpr.heart.org/bls-instructor-essentials-online
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The in-person portion, and the monitoring portion of the Instructor course.
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Steps to Become an Instructor There are 4 steps to become an AHA Instructor.
For successful completion, instructor candidates must
Prerequisites:
1. ☐ Be accepted by an AHA Training Center (TC) before enrolling in an Instructor Essentials Course and have a completed Instructor Candidate Application on file with that TC
2. ☐ Have current AHA BLS Provider Certificate
3. ☐ Complete
3. ☐ Instructor Essentials Course and be proficient in all the skills of that discipline
3. ☐ Successfully complete the Instructor Essentials Course, including both the online and hands-on session
4. ☐ Successfully be monitored teaching within 6 months after completing the hands-on session of the Instructor Essentials Course (Training Center Coordinators [TCCs] may require additional monitoring, if needed)
Course Format:
The Instructor Essentials Course is taught in a blended-learning format. To become an AHA Instructor, candidates must complete the online portion, followed by the hands-on session, which is classroom based.
The online portion of the course contains both core content and discipline-specific modules to prepare the instructor candidates for the hands-on session.
In the classroom, faculty will continue preparing instructor candidates to become AHA Instructors by focusing on in-depth material about the disciplines that candidates will be teaching. The hands-on session includes instruction, practice, and an exam, allowing instructor candidates to successfully use their instructor materials and skills.
Who Can Take the Course
The BLS Instructor Essentials Course is an intensive course for instructor candidates who have already successfully
completed the BLS Provider Course.
The role and scope of practice of healthcare providers can vary greatly, so there are no profession-specific guidelines for becoming an AHA Instructor in a specific discipline.
Instructor candidates should exemplify integrity, demonstrate strong ethics, communicate clearly, and model a dedication to quality of training.
BLS instructor candidates must meet certain requirements before taking the Instructor Essentials Course. Before
attending the hands-on session (facilitated by faculty), all instructor candidates must
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Be aligned with an AHA TC
− Instructor candidates must have a TC that has agreed to accept them as an instructor once they have completed
Instructor Essentials and their monitoring is completed.
• Have a current AHA BLS Provider course completion card
• Be proficient in the skills of BLS
− To measure the proficiency of the skills of BLS, be sure to observe instructor candidates during the course. If you
feel that instructor candidates need to be retested in their skills of BLS, you can include this as part of the
Instructor Essentials Course.
• Complete an Instructor Candidate Application
• Successfully complete the online portion of Instructor Essentials
As a BLS Instructor, candidates will also be able to teach any course within the Heartsaver portfolio. Even though
instructor candidates will be able to teach both BLS Provider and Heartsaver courses after completing the BLS Instructor
Essentials Course, they need only a BLS Provider card to take BLS Instructor Essentials.
If you have any questions about prerequisites, please consult your TCC.