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General Requirements to Be an AHA & ACLS Instructor

The American Heart Association (AHA) provides a course in advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) to train and certify individuals in emergency, life-saving techniques for people suffering a cardiac arrest. Instructors are mandated to fulfill certain requirements to be ACLS-certified by the AHA.

  1. Core Instructor Course

    • Before a person can become a ACLS Instructor, the individual must complete the Core Instructor Course (CIC). This course can be taken online, by CD-ROM from the AHA workbook or in an instructor-led classroom-based course. The course involves instruction on the basic training procedures required by the AHA. A person looking to take the CIC must first go to a AHA Training Center in the area.

    Advanced Cardiac Life Support

    • Upon completing the CIC, a candidate can then sign up for the ACLS training course to become certified in that program. Successfully completing the training course requires that a student: attend all classes, instruct a group on the team concept, conduct a peer evaluation of another student using the Megacode through a skills testing checklist and successfully remediate another student.

    Monitoring

    • Instructors that have completed both the CIC and ACLS course must be monitored in the classroom by an instructor that is already certified. This instructor will conduct a thorough investigation according to AHA standards and will give the final word on the skills and capabilities of the instructor.

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