Last Minute Training Manual

The Last Minute Training (LMT) Manual is a living document that contains all policies and procedures for instructors that use our services while instructing American Heart Association courses. New and existing instructors, please review this information carefully since it answer most commonly asked questions and ensure that your stay with LMT is as enjoyable as possible.

When reviewing the manual below, you can expand the document using the arrow in the upper right. This will also allow you to down the file in PDF Format.

teaching tips

Teaching courses can be stressful at times, so we would like to provide instructors with the following tips that have helped us over the years. If you have a tip that you would like to add to the list, please [Contact Us].

• For your first class, don't teach a lot of people. There is no minimum to the size of an AHA CPR course, and you will likely find it less stressful with a class of 2 students rather than 10. 

• 4 students to a manikin is better than 2 students to a manikin. Students can be cycled through while practicing on a manikin which reduces the number of groups that need to be watched. This also reduces the cost of equipment upkeep.

• It's okay not to have an answer to every question. Students can throw curve balls at times, that is why not knowing the answer to a question outside of the coursework is alright. Tactfully direct them toward conducting their own research on the subject.

• Share equipment and materials. There is no illusion here, AHA Materials are expensive. This means that sharing manuals, videos, and manikins among groups of instructors can drastically reduce the cost of hosting courses.

• Check your email. Most correspondence from the Training Site and Training Center will be eMail based. Also, check spam folders since some eMail providers have sensitive filters.

• Use Web Tools. Websites such as Signup.com can take a lot of stress away when it comes to scheduling courses and filling spots. Also, ATLAS's [Classes / Teach] tool can help fill seats and manage courses. 

• Keep it short and interesting. Most students are attending a CPR/AED course because they need to renew their certification for work or school. This means that they may not be enthusiastic right off the bat, so don't take it personally. Throw in a few jokes and move through the coursework without getting too winded. If you have a class that is highly engaged with lots of questions, slow it down and enhance their experience.

• Remember the mission. The purpose of teaching AHA Courses is to increase the survivability of life threatening emergencies with our community. Keeping that goal close to heart will drastically improve the instruction experience through the years and provide motivation in the tough spots.

• Use BCC When sending emails to Students. BCC Stands for "Blind Carbon Copy" and protects recipients from seeing the eMail addresses of others on the distribution list. If a hacker gets ahold of long lists of emails, they can use that information to create phishing attacks.