Instructor Candidate Onboarding — Written Response Required
Instructions
This workbook accompanies your in-person Level 2 Instructor training. As each topic is taught, write your answer in your own words in the space provided. Do not skip questions. You will sign and date this document upon completion, and a copy will be provided to you for your records.
Understanding BLS vs. Heartsaver Certification
Before beginning the instructor pathway, every candidate must understand the American Heart Association's standard distinguishing BLS Provider training from Heartsaver training. These are not interchangeable courses, and this distinction is not an Ella Med policy — it is an AHA requirement that we are responsible for enforcing.
A BLS provider card may only be issued to a student who has completed BLS Provider training. Heartsaver training does not qualify a student for a BLS card, because Heartsaver does not cover BLS-specific skills such as rescue breaths, bag-mask device and Ambu bag use, and pulse checks.
Likewise, a candidate must hold a valid BLS Provider card — not a Heartsaver card — before entering the BLS Instructor pathway. As part of this training, every instructor candidate is required to complete Heart Code BLS as a stipulation, to confirm true BLS provider-level knowledge before moving forward.
1. In your own words, explain the difference between BLS Provider training and Heartsaver training, and why a Heartsaver card can never be used to issue a BLS card.
Step 1 — Verify the Candidate's Provider Card
2. What are the two disciplines a candidate could hold a current provider card in?
3. What must you ask the candidate for once they confirm they have a card?
4. What is the AHA card validation link, and in what role do you validate it?
Step 2 — Stop if Card is Invalid or Missing
5. What three conditions require you to stop the instructor process immediately?
6. If the candidate has to take provider training, can it happen on the same day as any part of the instructor course?
7. What must happen after the candidate completes provider training?
Step 3 — Instructor Application
8. What document must the candidate download and complete?
9. What email address does the completed application get sent to?
10. Who reviews and validates the application before the candidate can proceed?
Step 4 — Instructor Essentials (Online)
11. What course must the candidate complete online, and in what discipline?
12. What manual must they obtain, and what two formats is it available in?
13. What must the candidate complete before moving to in-person training?
Step 5 — In-Person Training
14. Who leads the in-person training session?
15. What is the purpose of this session?
16. What must the candidate feel before scheduling their monitoring session?
Step 6 — Monitoring Session
17. What does the Level 2 Instructor do during the monitoring session?
18. What tool is used to document the candidate's competencies, and what are the four possible ratings?
19. What resource should be watched before conducting the monitoring session?
Step 7 — Paperwork Package & AHA Alignment
20. Where does the completed paperwork package get sent?
21. What is Ella Med's Training Site ID number?
22. When is the best time for the candidate to request alignment, and why?
Step 8 — Equipment Verification & Final Setup
23. What must the candidate provide to prove their equipment meets AHA guidelines?
24. What happens once equipment is verified?
25. What system will the candidate be given login access to for managing paperwork going forward?
Ongoing Faculty Responsibility
26. Training Center Faculty are specifically responsible for monitoring the teaching performance of renewing instructors, not just new candidates, on an ongoing basis (approximately every two years). What does this mean for your responsibilities once you reach faculty status?
⚠️ Important Notice
If you contact Ella Med with a question that is directly answered on this document, and it is clear you did not read it, you will be required to attend a thirty (30) minute meeting and pay a fifty dollar ($50) fee.
Fee Policy
This fee is not intended to generate profit for Ella Med. It exists to keep everyone accountable for reading and retaining the information they are trained on.
Acknowledgment
By signing below, I confirm that I have read this entire document, been trained on each item above, written my own responses in my own words, and understand that these requirements come from the American Heart Association and are non-negotiable. I understand that if I contact Ella Med regarding information contained in this document without having read it, I will be required to attend a thirty (30) minute meeting and pay a fifty dollar ($50) fee.
Signature:Sign inside the box below using your finger (phone/tablet) or your mouse (computer). Your signature saves automatically.
SIGN ABOVE THE LINE — YOUR SIGNATURE IS PART OF THIS DOCUMENT
✓ Signature saved on this device
📤 How to Save & Send Your Signed Workbook to Ella Med (No Printer Needed)
Once you have answered every question, typed your printed name, signed in the box, and entered the date:
Tap the “Save Signed Workbook as PDF”
button below.
When the print window opens, choose “Save as PDF”
instead of a printer.
Save the PDF to your device, then email it to ellamed.org@yahoo.com
for safekeeping.
Your answers and your signature are both included in the PDF automatically.
Workbook — Written Responses
Level 2 Instructor Training
Your answers and signature save automatically in this browser, on this device — not on any website.
To keep them permanently and send them to Ella Med, use the “Save Signed Workbook as PDF” button and email the PDF to ellamed.org@yahoo.com. Please do not clear your browsing history or cache until your work is saved and sent.
Your answers are saved in this browser. Save the PDF to keep them permanently.
Your answers are saved natively on your device, not on any website. Please do not clear your browsing history or cache until your work is saved and sent. We are not responsible for lost work.
