Attending a CPR Online Course: A General Guide and FAQs

 

First of all, congratulations for your interest in attending a CPR course! Whether your interest is purely for the benefit of knowing how to offer some first aid maneuvers to people in need, or you’re also seeking some kind of formal benefit out of getting CPR certified, the congratulations are still in order. Many deaths and serious complications could be avoided if more people knew these first aid basics, so basically each new person graduating from a CPR course is one step further in making the world a better place, as overstated as that might sound. Second of all, you probably have a lot of questions about where the best place to attend one may be, whether a CPR online course is a good idea versus a face-to-face class, what to expect out of it and so on. We’ll get through some of the basic frequently asked questions below, so you can hopefully be more confident about what kind of training you want and where you should start looking for it.

What can you do with a CPR certificate?

Well, besides the obvious, which is gaining the skills to actually help people experiencing health problems or injuries; there are also a few formal feats which require you to have a CPR certification. A lot of jobs in fields seemingly unrelated to health care require the one who occupies the position to have some basic resuscitation skills. For example, being a supervisor at a summer camp, or a baby sitter, or a restaurant guard and so on. When the job in case moves closer to the field of health care, having CPR certification becomes an even stricter requirement. So whether you’re a certified nurse or a school supervisor or even studying to become a doctor, this is one course which you’ll want to check.

If you plan to actually use the CPR course which you’ll be attending for something other than just being prepared to help, than you need to make sure the course is fully recognized by the relevant authorities. Before enrolling into any program, check its credentials and inquire if you can use the credits provided by the course at another institution as well. If the answer is positive, you’re good to go.

Is online training a viable option in this field?

Well, usually online training programs have their advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, it should be easier to attend an online course since you don’t have to respect any pre-made schedule and just go at it on your own terms. But on the other hand, this regime might not be for everyone. If you lack the motivation to keep up even if you’re not under the pressure of a traditional classroom, you may get behind until you discover that it’s too hard to recover and need to start all over again.

Also, another potential con is the fact that since CPR also involves some manual moves (quite a lot of them, actually), it might be hard to really learn the true know-hows in an online training form. This is a common fear among those interested in attending such a course. The answer to this doubt is that it depends. If it’s professionally conceived and carried out, a CPR online course should succeed in teaching you all the maneuvers you need even in the absence of a flesh-and-bone teacher. Think about it like this: since the state approves these courses and allows people to get certified in first aid by attending them, this is should be reassuring enough that the courses in no way fall short. Otherwise, they wouldn’t entrust your health to people who attended them if their acquired skills weren’t one hundred percent legitimate, right? This should answer your doubts. If an online training program fits your time and your disposition better than a regular face to face course, than go on and enroll in one worry-free. Your skills will not lack for it.

Where should one look for a trusted CPR online course?

Also, be wary of any CPR online course which promises to deliver you completion within an hour or so: all reports indicate such promises are a scam, since the certificates they will release will not be recognized by any formal institution or potential employer.

A good source of esteemed CPR certification which you’ll surely have no trouble with is, as always, the American Red Cross. The institution is so ripe with a prestigious history and so involved to this day in providing all sorts of health care and relief to people in trouble, through its numerous NGOs, that it’s basically a free ticket to everyone nicknaming you Doc. If you want to be sure that any potential employer or school will take your CPR online course seriously, this is maybe the best place to enroll for one.

But don’t let us bias you: basically every serious college or university involved in the medical field or in nursing offers its share of CPR courses. After you figure exactly what you want and you narrow the criteria a bit (like choosing the location, for example), you should have plenty of options to choose from. Good luck!