Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, commonly known as CPR, is a medical response to cardiac arrest that began in the early 1900s. Starting as an attempt to rescue drowning victims, CPR was not fully developed in its modern form until 1960. Since that time, medical boards have worked to further understand and improve upon CPR as a life saving tool. The CPR guidelines that are published every five years by the American Heart Association (AHA) for CPR and ECC (emergency cardiovascular care) are a major part of this refining process, and work to standardize the training and performance standards of CPR.

Many changes have been made to the CPR process over the years, most notably the addition of pediatric guidelines in the 1980s, the advent of the public-access AED in the 1990s, as well as the development of the Family and Friends® CPR Anytime® kit in 2005. Official CPR guidelines are extremely important when it comes to teaching CPR and standardizing its practice to ensure the safest, most effective result. All CPR training centers must follow these guidelines at all times, and anyone who will be teaching CPR as a trainer must demonstrate his or her thorough knowledge of current, official CPR practices.

Even though the official AHA CPR guidelines are only published every five years following the International Consensus on ECC and CPR Science with Treatment Recommendations (CoSTR) Conference, the American Heart Association will release statements during the intermediate years, if necessary. This generally occurs if new research allows for a better understanding of effective CPR procedures, such as the 2008 statement regarding compression-only CPR for bystanders who have witnessed a collapse.

Now in 2015 we get to look forward to the latest installment of the AHA CPR guidelines that are due to come out this fall. Although it seems unlikely that there will be any major changes, given the recent push toward bystander compression-only CPR it would be no surprise if this year’s CPR guidelines made an effort to emphasize compression cycles without ventilation.

For more information on official CPR training and what a class entails, visit SimpleCPR’s FAQ page.

Fitting advanced first aid online classes into your daily life can be harder than you think. You may find it hard to get motivated when you’re working on how to get a first aid certificate on your own time.

We at SimpleCPR have compiled a list of essential information before you attempt to get first aid only certification. By preparing beforehand, you’ll be perfectly equipped to get certified first aid for professionals.

Follow these steps and you’ll learn how to get a first aid certificate the easy way—by being prepared!

1. Make time for your classes.

Sure, taking first aid courses online from the comfort of your own home sounds easy. But your home is full of distractions. How to get a first aid certificate when so much else demands your attention?

Working a specific amount of time at the same time every day can build discipline. Whether that’s when you get home from work or during your lunch break, following a schedule will help you manage your certified first aid course.

2. Keep note-taking materials close-by.

Your classes may be online, but you can use non-digital materials to make your task easier—especially when it comes time to take your exam. When your very own copy of first aid certificate is on the line, you should allow yourself to use all your resources.

Keep a notepad and pen close at hand. You can write down important information related to how to get a first aid certificate as you learn it. This way, you won’t have to worry about searching for the info somewhere else and getting distracted.

3. Prepare to Practice, Practice, Practice!

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.”

This popular proverb is handy advice—especially when getting first aid training online. Online courses are offered at your own pace, and you should take advantage of that. This means preparing yourself mentally for a lot of do-overs.

When you choose SimpleCPR for your CPR and first aid training, you can retake—for free—as many exams as you need. This way, all your time is spent valuably, as you can use what you learned and apply it to the next exam.

4. Remind yourself what you’re working for.

As with anything difficult, keeping your goals in mind can help you through any rough spots. Ultimately, when you reach the end of your course, you’ll have the capability to save lives.

Are you prepared for how to get a first aid certificate?

Keep this page bookmarked before you take first aid online. Whether as a handy reference or as a preparation guide, these steps can help you get first aid certified online.

If you need to take a CPR or first aid class in order to become certified either for your job or for your own personal preparedness, you might want to consider an online CPR first aid certification. Online training, whether it is for first aid, CPR, BLS, or bloodborne pathogens, is a convenient way to take your training course from the comfort of your own home.

How to prepare for your online course:

Before signing up for your online CPR and first aid certification, you will need to verify a few things:

1. Make sure you are certain of the course you need to take. If you are required to have a CPR certification for your job, most employers have specific requirements when it comes to the type of certification they will accept. This is generally based on legal requirements as well as your job position.
2. Verify that online training is acceptable. While SimpleCPR’s certifications have a 99% acceptance rate, there are still a few employers or positions that require hands-on training or skills testing.
3. Set aside time for study. Even though SimpleCPR’s online courses can generally be completed in about 30-90 minutes, the classes are entirely self-paced and dependent on how long it takes you to complete the material.

Taking the online course:

The training modules and exams that make up your online course will be the most straightforward part of the online CPR first aid certification process. SimpleCPR breaks each course down into separate modules, comprised of a training portion and an exam portion, to make studying for your exams even easier. Both the training and exams can be taken multiple times until you are able to pass the course.

Receiving your certification:

Once all of your exams are passed and your course is complete, you will have immediate access to the digital copy of your certification card; you can choose to print it directly from your account or download it to your computer. SimpleCPR also offers package options along with your course, which give you the choice of receiving only the hard-copy wallet card for free, or paying a little extra to receive additional items such as a wall certificate and a personal protective equipment keychain.

Getting your online CPR and first aid certification through SimpleCPR is an extremely easy and convenient process – one that can be done right from your home! To learn more about becoming certified online, visit SimpleCPR today!