Are Online Only CPR Certifications Valid?
Online training and eLearning is a great way to learn any subject, and in today’s fast-paced world it can be quite convenient to learn at your pace and your convenience. Many different topics are taught online, from major universities to adult education classes. All the major providers of CPR, First Aid, and BLS training provide an online component to their training for those seeking this option.
What About the Top National Certifications?
However, none of the top certifications in the United States recognize 100% online training as a legitimate way of learning and becoming proficient in the physical skills involved with CPR and BLS. This includes the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, and the American Safety and Health Institute. While these organizations may offer blended learning training, none of them will certify someone based solely on the online portion of the training.
Common Sense
It’s only common sense that a skill like CPR is a combination of classroom, or online learning, and physical skill training and assessment. As important as CPR is to master, it only makes good sense to take the time to learn, practice, and be assessed on this potentially life-saving skill. Why would anyone want to try to short cut this process? You must learn the knowledge of CPR, AED, First Aid, and BLS, but then you must drill these skills until they become automatic. Learning these physical skills is frankly just not something that you can do with an 100% online course.
CPR is a Physical Skill
Imagine trying to learn tennis, or swimming, from a video or online course. While it would be very helpful, there is just no chance that you will be able to actually play the game of tennis, or be able to swim. You need proper lessons with a professional to guide you through the process, make any necessary correction and add some subtle details that may not be available in the online classes.
But tennis and swimming are terrible examples; no one’s life is at stake. CPR on the other hand demands that you are extremely knowledgable and proficient in a skill that has the potential to help save someone’s life. It is essential to have a coach, your CPR instructor, to guide you through the entire learning and certification process, especially the physical skill of performing high-quality CPR.
Our Experience
Unfortunately, we have had countless students come to us after taking one of these “online CPR certification” courses and tell us that their employer does not accept or recognize this type of training. Now they have to pay to retake the entire course with us and try to get a refund from the online provider. It’s very unfortunate.
And just to be clear. We see great value in all online learning, including health safety courses. It is very convenient and very cost-effective. But 100% only CPR training is not recognized by health care providers, OSHA, American Heart Association, American Red Cross, or the American Safety and Health Institute. And regardless of what is claimed by many online CPR providers, the only way to learn the physical skill necessary to become proficient in CPR is to have extensive practice, and that means hands-on training with manikins.
More Information from the Health and Safety Institute
Our Recommendations
We recommend the following to anyone seeking CPR or other health and safety certification:
- Check with your employer and find out their requirements of what kind of CPR Certification you need, and whether or not 100% online CPR training is acceptable. In our experience and the experience of many of our students, it is not.
- If you have doubts, check with the American Heart Association, American Red Cross, and the American Safety and Health Institute to confirm that they do not accept or recognize 100% online CPR in their programs. We assure you that they do not, however, please feel free to verify this yourself especially if anyone online claims anything different.
What We Offer
Premium CPR offers first-class CPR Training and Certification through the organizations mentioned above. We make the classes convenient, cost-effective, and a lot of fun. We do not teach the boring run of the mill CPR classes. Our classes are extremely informative, enjoyable, and you will walk away from the training with the confidence that you will be able to perform CPR in the even that you should ever need to.
