Instructor Development Pathways

Instructor Certification
Instructor Development

Canadian Red Cross First Aid Programs are divided into three main Disciplines with multiple levels of Instructor certification available within each.

  1. The Core Programs Discipline includes CPR Instructor certification, and First Aid & CPR Instructor certification.
  2. The Professional Responder Programs Discipline includes BLS Instructor, First Responder Instructor, and EMR Instructor certifications.
  3. The Wilderness Programs Discipline includes Remote First Aid Instructor certification, Wilderness First Aid Instructor certification, and Wilderness First Responder Instructor certification.
 

Initial Instructor Certification

Obtaining your intial Canadian Red Cross Instructor certification involves successfully completing the entire Instructor Development pathway for any one of the Instructor certifications available within any of the 3 main Disciplines. The initial Instructor certification process includes participant level certification, a formal skill assessment, completion of the Fundamentals of Instructor course, completion of a Discipline Specific Instructor course, and the corresponding Teaching Experience component.

 

Shortened Transfer Options

If you already have experience and certification as a professional educator outside of the Canadian Red Cross First Aid Programs, you may qualify to take one of the shortened "Instructor Transfer" options which would allow you to by-pass two of the in-class instructor course sessions.

  • Transfer Option 1 may be suitable for those who are already certified and have experience teaching as Instructors with another training agency such as the JIBC or St. John Ambulance.
  • Transfer Option 2 may be suitable for a current Canadian Red Cross Water Safety Instructor (WSI), or for professional educators with a Teaching Degree and full-time classroom teaching experience.

Registration for one of the Instructor Transfer course options usually requires an official Letter of Exception issued by the Canadian Red Cross, confirming your suitability.

   

Instructor Expansion

After completing your initial Canadian Red Cross Instructor Certificate in one of the Disciplines you can obtain additional Instructor certifications in other Disciplines, or upgrade to a higher level within their existing Discipline, by following a correspondingly shortened Instructor Development Pathway.

Upgrade within Existing Discipline
Example..a First Responder Instructor (FRI) wants to obtain EMR Instructor (EMRI) certification. The existing FRI certification and desired EMRI certification are both within the Professional Responder Discipline. As this is an Upgrade within the existing Discipline, the First Responder Instructor only needs to obtain EMR participant level certification then complete a formal EMR Skill Evaluation to upgrade to EMR Instructor certification.

Expansion to a New Discipline
Example...a First Responder Instructor (FRI) wants to obtain First Aid & CPR Instructor (FAI) certification. The existing FRI certification is within the Professional Responder Discipline, while the desired FAI certification is within the Core Programs Discipline. As this is an Expansion to a new Discipline, the First Responder Instructor can complete the shortened First Aid & CPR Instructor Expansion process. This is essentially the same as the Initial Certification process, with the exception that they can by-pass the Fundamentals of Instruction component.  

Pathways Chart
You can view the chart below to see which steps are required/not required to obtain a new Instructor Certification, depending on your individual stage of Instructor Development.

 

Instructor Development Steps

✔︎
indicates
required
steps 		Initial Instructor Certification Upgrade within Existing Discipline Expansion to New Discipline Transfer Option 1 Transfer Option 2
1.1
Proof of Eligibility		 ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎
1.2
MyRC Profile		 ✔︎ --- --- ✔︎ ✔︎
1.3
Skill Assessment		 ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎
1.4
Course Package		 ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎
1.5
Supplemental Downloads		 ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎
2.1
Online Modules		 ✔︎ --- --- ✔︎ ✔︎
2.2
Boulevard Orientation		 ✔︎ --- --- ✔︎ ✔︎
2.3
Micro-Teach Assignments		 ✔︎ --- ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎
2.4
Workbook Assignments		 ✔︎ --- ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎
2.5
Sessions B & C 		✔︎ --- --- ✔︎ ---
3
Sessions D & E 		✔︎ --- --- --- ✔︎
4.1
Online Modules		 ✔︎ --- --- ✔︎ ✔︎
4.2
Lesson Plan		 ✔︎ * ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎
4.3
Schedule Teaching Experience		 ✔︎ * ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎
4.4
Pre-Course Duties		 ✔︎ * ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎
4.5
Supervised Teaching Experience		 ✔︎ * ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎
4.6
Form Submission		 ✔︎ * ✔︎ ✔︎ ✔︎

Existing Discipline Upgrade Exceptions

  • *Steps 4.2 - 4.6 are only required for Existing Discipline Upgrades if the Instructor is upgrading from RFAI to WFRI or from BLSI to FRI/EMRI.
  • BLS Instructors who obtained BLSI certification through the now discontinued FAI to BLSI Bridge process are required to complete the "Expansion to New Discipline" process to obtain FRI/EMRI certification.
  • You can find more detailed information about the Canadian Red Cross Instructor Development Programs, and the Instructor Expansion process, in the Canadian Red Cross First Aid Program Standards.

Fundamental Instructor Resources

Core Programs Instructor Resources

Professional Responder Instructor Resources

Wilderness Programs Instructor Resources