The short answer is No! Certificates earned from first aid courses solely done on-line do not meet any provincial guidelines in Canada. Provinces require that a practical and examination component is included when receiving a provincially approved award. This article will explain why a first aid certificate done solely online will not meet Canadian certification standards.
First Aid and CPR Involve Physical Skills
It’s one thing to have the theoretical knowledge on how to manage first aid scenarios such as bleeding and broken bones but it’s another thing to actually do them on another person. Provinces throughout Canada require that a trained instructor watch a participant successfully complete a number of components of first aid and CPR before being able to successfully complete that candidate in the course. And this is all fairly reasonable as you would want your childcare provider to have someone to actually have some experience managing a choking child rather than just reading it online.
Examinations
If a course is done completely online do we really know who successfully completed the course? A person could write any name on the course before completing it and then that person would have a certificate regardless if they ever actually took the course. In other words, it’s very easy to cheat your way through an online course and also very easy to cheat for the examination. Provincial providers require candidates to attend the course, show ID and also take a standard closed book exam.
In Conclusion
In conclusion it makes sense why provinces require participants to attend a course for practical learning skills as well as to take a written exam. Don’t expect your employer to validate your award if it is taken solely online and doesn’t meet provincial requirements. Although you may have learned a lot it would suffice for your workplace or school.