Category Archives: Teaching Tips

How People Learn

How People Learn The first set of CPR guidelines were established in 1961. CPR for the lay public was first recommended in 1973. While CPR has changed a great deal since its inception, the core skills remain the same. Collectively, we have saved countless lives. With more focused training, we can contribute to saving even…

Pregnant CPR Student in your class? I have a pregnant student in my CPR class. What do I do? An Instructor recently submitted an ‘Ask the Expert’ question about a pregnant student in her class. The Instructor wanted to know, “I have a pregnant student signed up for my class. Is there a cut off recommended…

CPR Training: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly of CPR training. It really does boil down to the Instructor’s integrity and ability. The Instructor makes the difference between good, bad and ugly training. Which type of Instructor are you? The Good All instructors start out as novices. The difference is that the good ones…

CPR Compressions Too Hard and Too Fast? A recent review of research by The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center shows we may be giving CPR compressions too hard and too fast! The research may conflict with the 2010 guidelines of compressing ‘at least’ 5 CM (2 inches). In an article published by the university,…

Recently an Instructor submitted an "Ask the Expert" question about implied consent. The Instructor wanted know, "Is it implied consent when a conscious person refuses care, then becomes unresponsive?" Similar versions of this question come up in class quite often, so we thought you might like to know... As an EMT or professional responder, one has…

“Heads up!” March is Brain Injury Awareness month. Did you know there is a Congressional Brain Injury Task Force? On March 18th members of congress’ task force and the Brain Injury Association of America will host an annual event in Washington to raise awareness. You can help too. Information to promote Brain Injury Awareness Month Here is…

I was recently asked by a couple of different Instructors about CPR training for disabled students. Both of the students had physical disabilities, were wheelchair-bound and needed the CPR certification for work. In other words, both students needed to prove they could do the skills. While there are a lot of opinions, there are not…

9 CPR Training Errors Back in the day, when I first started as a CPR training instructor, there was a great training video that was narrated by Roddy McDowall. There was a point in that CPR training video where Roddy talked about what NOT to do. He said something like, '...don't be a bender, a…

8 Tips for Teaching a CPR, AED and First Aid Course to a Large Group Recently an Instructor asked me for some tips to help her teach 30 students all in one day. There is a lot to consider, especially if you want to do a good job and get invited back to teach again! When…