How do I Become an EMR Instructor?

Emergency Responder Instructor Pathway

At Coast2Coast, we offer a comprehensive and straight pathway if you want to become an EMR Instructor. It has been described in detail below. Our course is designed so that you learn all the essential skills and knowledge required to become an EMR Instructor. When you take an EMR Instructor course with us, you will learn both the theory and practical aspects and be ready to proficiently teach the same to students aspiring to be Emergency Medical Responders.

1. Evaluate Skills and Check Prerequisites

There are certain prerequsites that need to be met to become an EMR Instructor. A successful completion of a skills evaluation is the first of them. The prerequisites to become an EMR Instructor are:

• You must be 18 years or older
• Hold a valid Canadian Red Cross Basic Life Support, First Responder or Emergency Medical Responder certification
• Successfully perform a Skills Evaluation

The skills evaluation session is approximately 4 hours in length. This is a fast-paced session in which you are expected to know and perform all of the skills taught in an EMR course properly. You can also register for a Skills Evaluations Crash Course with us which will prepare for the session.

Please note that if you wish to teach FR and EMR, then you only need an Emergency Medical Responder certification.

Each program has sets of skills checklists which must be completed by the candidates successfully without coaching. 

To successfully complete this part of the pathway, the candidate must pass all of the required skills of the EMR discipline. The candidate has to undertake the classroom component within 60 days of completion of the the skills evaluation otherwise they will have to retake this component.

2. Fundamentals of Instruction

The next step is to complete the Fundamentals of Instruction. The point of the Fundamentals of Instruction (FOI) is to teach you how to be an engaging instructor and get you used to presenting in front of a group. This has an online and an in-class portion which need to be completed. To satisfy this requirement, you need to complete:

• 8 hours online portion
• 2 days in-class portion (14.5 hours)
• Attend and participate in 100% of the course

During this, must complete the online portion first. In this portion, you will learn the theory before attending an in-class session and practicing your presentation skills. The information you learn online will be applied to your in-class training, so you must complete the online training successfully.

3. Discipline-Specific Classroom Component

After you’ve completed the Skills Evaluation and Fundamentals of Instruction, you can begin the Discipline-Specific component! You will use your knowledge from the previous components to complete this step. 

• 2 days in-class (14.5 hours)
• Students have 6 months to complete this component after completing the Skills Evaluation and FOI
• Attend and participate in 100% of the course

In the Discipline-Specific component, you will be given information to prepare a knowledge-based presentation and skills-based presentation related to the EMR discipline. You will present both of these to your classmates and must be sure to manage your time effectively. You are expected to show impeccable knowledge of EMR after the completion of this component.

4. Teaching Experience

Once you successfully complete the Discipline-Specific step, you will be eligible to schedule your Teaching Experience component. This component is also known as the Co-Teach. This component is also divided into an Online and an In-class portion. 

• 30-45 minutes online
• In-class time varies on the participant’s competency (Observation and Teaching Experience/Co-Teach)
• In-class portion must be completed within 1 year of online portion completion

Candidates will receive access to the online portion within 48 hours of registration. This portion must be completed before the in-class time. It will go over what you can expect during the Teaching Experience. 

The in-class portion is up to your instructor trainer’s discretion. They will inform you how many classroom Observations and Teaching Experiences you must complete. Typically, students get assigned 1-2 Teaching Experiences.

Observation

The Observation is where you will go to a class from the lens of an instructor. You will need to pay attention to how the instructor teaches so that you can be prepared for the Teaching Experience.

Teaching Experience

You will be emailed with topics you can choose to teach for your Teaching Experience. Your Teaching Experience must be done with a Coast2Coast authorized instructor. You will be required to send us a lesson plan at least 2 days before your Teaching Experience. This will provide us time to review it and give you feedback and guidance. We’ll send this to the instructor of your Teaching Experience and you’ll teach your lesson to a class. Once you complete your Teaching Experience, you will send us your finalized Teaching Experience form and lesson plan for us to review.

5. Certification

After successfully completing all four components, you will earn a digital copy of your EMR Instructor Certification, which is valid for 3 years. You can teach Emergency Medical Responder, First Responder and Basic Life Support courses.

6. Become an EMR Instructor with Coast2Coast!

After you earn your Instructor certification with us, we’d love to have you join our team! You may apply to Coast2Coast by emailing our HR department at HR@c2cfirstaidaquatics.com.

Why Work With Coast2Coast:

• Flexible work hours (full-time/part-time)
• Opportunity to teach in over 20 locations across Ontario
• Receive mentorships – get updates on most recent curriculum changes, get help with lesson planning, coaching, earn higher certifications and teaching resources
• Corporate discounts on training equipment, AEDs and more
• Participate in team events
• Become a reseller