Online CPR courses – be careful!                 

            One of the best investments in time and money that anyone can make is a training course in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). It will help to eliminate the paralysis and fear that most people experience when they face a medical emergency.

You have probably seen ads for online CPR certification at bargain prices. However, if you do not demonstrate your skills on a manikin with an approved CPR instructor (American Heart Association or American Red Cross) the certificate is worthless.

            I recently logged on to one of these sites and simply scrolled through the lesson titles without actually viewing the video. It took me only about two minutes but I was congratulated for becoming certified. I only had to send them $14.95 in order to receive my wallet-sized certification card.

Another site wouldn’t let me take the course until I had paid for it with my credit card. There was no mention of manikin practice or instructor supervision. That site claims to have certified more than 300,000 individuals! I verified by phone with this company that no manikin practice is required. When I asked if I needed such practice for job-required CPR training I was told: “only if your employer requires it”.

            Although it is possible to learn the basic principles of CPR either online or with an old-fashioned textbook or manual, true proficiency is not possible without actually doing chest compressions and rescue breathing and having your technique approved by a certified CPR instructor. Would you be a passenger in an airplane if the pilot had only read an instruction manual without actually having flown a plane with an instructor?

            The American Heart Association (www.heart.org/bls) site includes links to online courses but it clearly states that certification is obtained only after a hands-on demonstration of proficiency under the observation of an instructor.

The American Red Cross (www.redcross.org/courses/index.jsp) offers online training but their website states that taking their online courses does not provide certification.

An online CPR course does have value but don’t fall for the promise of “certification” if demonstrating what you have learned on a manikin is not required.

            The University of Washington School of Medicine is an excellent resource with 23 CPR-related topics in all, including a demonstration of an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). The program is free at http://depts.washington.edu/learncpr/index.html.

             Smart phone users have a choice of several free CPR apps.