Instructor Resource Center

The National Safety Council cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) courses meet the 2020 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. This letter provides the details related to those guidelines. Use this letter when questions arise regarding how NSC courses compare to other programs or what guideline standards course completion meets.

These materials provide NSC authorized instructors with over 100 industry-specific case scenarios so you can build meaning through the content you deliver. Choose key industries, then download PowerPoint presentations with first aid case scenarios specific to that industry.

You’ll find relevant first aid situations that will resonate with your training audience and help reinforce the content you teach. Within the slide decks, you’ll find content to support a variety of first aid situations that participants may encounter.

● Arts, Entertainment and Recreation
● Construction
● Manufacturing
● Utilities

Electrical
Gas
Water

● Wholesale Trade

Important Notice: Please remember, course completion cards must be printed or typed when they are issued. Hand-written completion cards are not acceptable.

Expiration dates for all cards may not exceed two years from the completion date.

Completion cards must be filled out completely and include the correct course name. The course completion card template you received with your instructor kit includes a field in the upper-right hand portion of the card. The correct course title must be printed on every card. See the following example:

Only official NSC course titles may be printed on completion cards. The only course titles that may be used on NSC completion cards are:

For First Aid Cards:

• First Aid
• Pediatric
• Advanced First Aid
• Emergency Medical Responder
  
  

For CPR Cards:

• Adult CPR & AED
• Adult and Child CPR & AED
• Adult, Child and Infant CPR & AED
• Pediatric CPR & AED
• BLS for Health Care Providers & Professional Rescuers

 
For more information, please consult the Instructor Guidelines located in the front of your Instructor Manual. 

How to Complete Your Course Completion Cards

Open in Adobe Acrobat. Information on NSC completion cards must be typed or printed. Adjust for alignment on your printer; make a copy of the course completion card to use as a sample for alignment before printing.

View First Aid Completion Card Template
View Course Completion Card Example

Coast Guard Requirement

When issuing first aid completion cards that meet the Coast Guard requirement, please include the following numbers to the card:

First Aid: NATSAF-202
CPR: NATSAF-133

Please include both numbers when completing both first aid and CPR requirements.

Important Completion Card Reminder

Expiration dates for all NSC First Aid and CPR cards may not exceed two years. This change was communicated to all instructors and training centers with the launch of the current training programs in 2016 and affects all NSC First Aid and CPR programs. Instructors who encounter a regulatory agency that requires a three-year expiration date must first seek prior approval by contacting [email protected]. 

Completion Cards and Teaching CPR/AED

NSC issues a new, single completion card for First Aid, CPR and AED courses. This card, which has “First Aid, CPR and AED” pre-printed on it, replaces the separate First Aid and CPR completion cards that were issued for First Aid, CPR and AED courses. NSC received complaints from instructors about the cards because they are teaching First Aid and CPR, but not AED in their courses. All instructors are reminded that AED is a required component of the NSC CPR training curriculum, and must be included in all CPR courses. There are no exceptions. Instructors who teach NSC CPR without the AED portion of the course are in violation of the terms of their Instructor Agreement.

These handy course outlines will help you plan the timing and delivery of each course.

Bloodborne & Airborne Pathogens Course Outline
Pediatric First Aid, CPR & AED Outline
Basic Life Support Outline
Advanced First Aid and Basic Life Support Outline
First Aid, CPR & AED Outline

May 2023 Course Corrections

The First Aid Practice Area has responded to requests to update our content on two topics. We have added information specifying when an impaled object should be removed from the mouth or cheek area. We have also updated information on treating a sucking chest wound.

The content has been updated in the digital materials available through NSC Learning. Log in, go to My Home Page, then Access My Training & Materials. You’ll find updated content for:

First Aid, CPR and AED
First Aid
Pediatric First Aid, CPR and AED

In future printed materials, this information will be integrated in to the following courses:

First Aid, CPR & AED – Instructor Manual page 38
First Aid – Instructor Manual page 38
Pediatric First Aid, CPR & AED – reference to Sucking Chest Wound Instructor Manual page 111

Cheek Impalement – The only time you should remove an impaled object from the cheek/mouth is if the airway is completely blocked, preventing breathing and you can do so without further injuring the person. Removing an impaled object can damage the nerves and blood vessels and make the wound worse as well as increase bleeding into the mouth and affecting the airway. Stabilize the object with gauze or bandaging and keep the person still and calm until first responders arrive.

Sucking Chest Wound – It is better to not block air flowing in and out than for air to be completely sealed off which would create a tension pneumothorax. In classes at the EMS level or above, 3 sided occlusive dressings are generally taught but that is outside the scope of this class.

Participants who complete the First Aid, CPR and AED, First Aid Only, or CPR and AED Only eLearning courses must perform skill testing to receive a skills certification card. When you receive your 8^th Edition First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor Credential, you are automatically qualified to be a Skill Tester for participants. This includes instructors that have completed the eLearning courses for:

• First Aid, CPR & AED
• First Aid
• CPR & AED

Use the Performance Checklist included in your Instructor Resource Kit to test participant’s skills, then log their completion through NSC Learning.

Real-Time Feedback Device Requirements

Research indicates that the use of instrumented directive feedback devices and manikins can improve the overall quality of CPR performance. While NSC supports the use of such devices in CPR training whenever possible, there are no plans to require the use of such devices in NSC courses at this time.

Free First Aid Digital Reference Guide 

Did you know that NSC has created a lifesaving app? This tool replaces our Quick Reference Guide with detailed, life-saving steps for various illnesses and injuries. Learn more

Use of Naloxone (Narcan) for Overdoses

On March 29, 2023, the FDA approved naloxone, or Narcan®, a life-saving medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, for over-the-counter non-prescription use. NSC is thrilled workplaces will now be able to more easily obtain this lifesaving drug for first aid kits. At nsc.org, you can find: 

• Information on the opioid epidemic 
• How to use naloxone as a first aid medication in suspected opioid overdoses
• CPR techniques in adults and children following the algorithm of the ILCOR guidelines 
  Techniques of nasal and intramuscular administration of naloxone in adults and children 

NSC includes naloxone video and print content in our FA/CPR/AED, FA, CPR/AED, BLS, ADVFABLS, and in our FA/CPR/AED, FA, and CPR/AED online courses. Instructors should reinforce this content in class after the CPR/AED videos because the videos conclude by talking about how to administer naloxone. 

Individuals with Disabilities

NSC does not specify the types of individuals who can attend our first aid courses. First aid instructors are aware of the physical demands of the courses, and if prospective students have questions about the physical requirements, the instructor should be able to answer them. Individuals with physical disabilities or limitations are welcome in NSC courses, and reasonable accommodations should be made by the instructor, as stated in the instructor manual. However, students must be able to perform all required skills in order to successfully complete the course and earn a completion card.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

NSC includes a closed captioning option in our multimedia video files.

Avoid speaking when students are writing in their workbooks. Wait until they have finished writing and then begin to speak.

Before answering a student’s question, repeat or rephrase the question. This is especially helpful if the question comes from the back of the room or if the student speaks in a soft voice.

Announce when you are going to read or call attention to something in the workbook or Quick Guide, and reference the page and page location. This allows the students to find and reference it. For example, “Let’s turn to Scenario 2: Chemical Spill, on the top of page 33—I’ll read it for you.” It is usually easier for deaf/HH students to read directly from the source.

Turn your body towards the deaf/HH student when you speak, and avoid blocking your face with any object. Deaf/HH students use face and lip-reading cues to follow what is being said.

Watch for expressions of frustration, confusion and inattention. You may have to explain the content in a different way to help the student understand.

Don’t speak louder than normally or exaggerate your mouth movements. Keep your rate of speech the same as it always is.

AED Training Units

You don’t need batteries in your AED training units when students are watching the AED section of film and practicing along with it. Instead, have the students follow the voice prompts that come from the multimedia. Later, when testing, you can use the training unit batteries and vary the scenarios. 

First Aid Kits

When teaching the first aid course, ask participants to bring their own first aid kit to the course, either from their work vehicle or from their home. Then, as you work through the various sessions in the workbook, review what we could use from the first aid kit to provide basic first aid. If you are near the first aid kit that is provided for everyone in the building, look to see what contents to use from that kit, as well.

By having their own first aid kits in the classroom, they 1) get familiar with the contents of their own first aid kit, 2) see what they could use from the kit, and 3) inspect their kit and discard expired items. Too many people don’t really know what they have in their first aid kits!