Whether you’re a seasoned Emergency First Response® (EFR®) Instructor or have only recently started to teach first-aid courses, it’s important to consider linking these vital courses to customize learning for your students. For example, there might be employees at a local business who would benefit from learning about Manual Handling and First Aid if a colleague injures himself. On a one-day course, you could teach them some practical aspects of safely lifting or lowering loads along with what to do for colleagues who injure themselves while doing these activities.

Linking Courses Add Value

By linking courses, you can tailor your offering to provide greater learning opportunities and additional relevant skills. A well-documented example is when linking the Care for Children course into your Primary Care and/or Secondary Care course(s). Adding the Care for Children skills will better prepare your students to care for people of all ages in a variety of circumstances.

How to Link Core Courses

Two courses that are naturally linked – Primary Care and Secondary Care – already come in a combined manual, but these can be split in to two separate courses and linked instead with a different course. You have great flexibility on how to package this. For example, consider linking:

Primary Care with AED
Primary and Secondary Care with AED
Primary Care, Secondary Care and Care for Children
Primary Care, Secondary Care and Care for Children with AED
Care for Children with AED
Primary Care with a distinctive course (either an EFR or a member-authored distinctive)
Secondary Care with a distinctive course (either an EFR or a member-authored distinctive)
Care for Children with a distinctive course (either an EFR or a member-authored distinctive)

Linking EFR Authored Distinctive Courses

EFR has three distinctive courses that are available globally. Due to the material covered in the courses they can be integrated, or added, seamlessly to the core courses listed above. These are examples, but you may have your own ideas on how to link the courses to target your student demographics.

Manual Handling

Prerequisite: None – any EFR Instructor can apply for this rating.

Course Length: 3-4 hours

Linking: This course is great for combining with Secondary Care, as moving loads does not usually create life-threatening conditions but can cause injuries to the musculoskeletal systems; knowing how to assist with soft-tissue injuries is therefore of great benefit. This is a great “Prevention and Care” type linking and can be marketed well to any industry, from manufacturing to office-based employees.

Certification Requirements: practical exercises and scenarios for Manual Handling, in addition to Secondary Care requirements

Certificates received: 1 x Manual Handling and 1 x Secondary Care

Airborne Pathogen Awareness

Prerequisite: Any EFR Instructor can apply for this rating after watching a half-hour online orientation webinar.

Course Length: 2 hours

Linking: A great course to link with is CPR/AED. The linked courses can be completed in half a day, and cover hands-only CPR to reduce disease transmission.

Certification Requirements: workshop and quiz for Airborne Pathogen Awareness in addition to CPR/AED requirements

Certificates received: 1 x Airborne Pathogen Awareness and 1 x CPR/AED

Note: While most EFR courses do not have a minimum age, it’s worth noting the minimum student age for Airborne Pathogen Awareness is 15.

Mental Health Awareness

Prerequisite: Attend a two-day Mental Health First Aid Adult course. The regions covered by Mental Health First Aid International can be found here. Following this, watch a half-hour online orientation webinar for the EFR Mental Health Awareness course. If you complete a program run in collaboration with PADI®, the orientation will be conducted at the end of the training.

Course Length: 3.5 hours

Linking: This course is great for combining with Secondary Care, as the instances of mental health first-aid requirements are as high as those for physical health first-aid requirements. With awareness and general public knowledge of mental health increasing, this is a very topical course to share with students.

Certification Requirements: group discussion and practical exercises in addition to Secondary Care requirements

Certificates received: 1 x Mental Health Awareness and 1 x Secondary Care

Note: While most EFR courses do not have a minimum age, it’s worth noting the minimum student age for Mental Health Awareness is 16.

Increase Your Business Opportunities

If there is a first-aid related subject you are knowledgeable about and could offer as a course to students, you may consider writing your own Distinctive Course. This could sit alongside a core EFR course, and you have the option to market the courses as a package to your students.

For example, you could write a Distinctive Course on Sports Injuries to integrate into the Secondary Care course. Or, perhaps you know a lot about Marine Animal Bites and Stings and want to run this alongside the Primary and Secondary Care courses. To find out more and receive a template to assist with writing your own Distinctive Speciality, contact your Regional Training Consultant at your EFR Regional Headquarters.

By knowing what your students need, you can customize and link courses, create bundles to target a specific audience and maximize the number of courses you deliver, thereby increasing your business opportunities and ultimately, profitability.

More Questions?

All of the required information on how to link these core courses can be found in the relevant instructor guides. If have more questions, please contact your Regional Training Consultant at your EFR Regional Headquarters.

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