NOT WORTH THE SAVINGS! Calgary First Aid does not help you save lives. A huge waste of my time. I normally don't write reviews, but this experience left such a bad taste in my mouth that I have to warn others to stay away from Calgary First Aid.
Our instructor, Keenan, was a new instructor and this was his third class. I have nothing against new instructors because we all have to start somewhere, but what I did not appreciate was his behavior and language. He was swearing all throughout the class (including the F-word) , he would speak condescendingly to participants, he made very inappropriate statements about his drinking habits and his sexual conduct in front of all us, INCLUDING SOME PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE CHILDREN! He mentioned that he was in school for helping people with Drug Addictions or something, and even shared that people come from different backgrounds so we as First-Aiders should remember that people come from all different backgrounds and have histories we know nothing about and that we should respect that (probably the most insightful thing he said all day), but then he did not respect the participants there at all, and thus not eating what he himself was preaching. His conduct towards us implied that his time was more important, that he didn't want questions being asked during his lunch hour - because he'd be busy tweeting and on Facebook. The rest of us had taken day(s) out of work or school and paid to be there. This was his job and at least he was being paid to be there, he could at least show some respect and provide time to answer individual questions. He also bragged that his classes always ended at 2pm because he had stuff to do. Our class did not break for lunch until almost 2pm, and then the re-certifying HCPs were allowed to leave, but that still meant everyone else still had class after lunch. I can only wonder what they covered if Keenan wanted to leave earlier...
Being a new instructor, you would think you would best teach the material is in a systematic fashion, starting at the beginning and working into more complex and complicated situations. Keenan was all over the place. This was ok for me because I had taken the course several times already and was already familiar with the material, but there were at least 1/3 of the class who were new to First Aid. He did not go over basic information about First Aid, only mentioned in passing about EMA (Emergency Medical Act, aka Good Samaritan Act) and ONLY EXPLAINED what EMA stood for (but not how it protected first aiders or those who stop to help someone in need) when someone who wasn't familiar with First Aid asked him. Because he skipped over basic First Aid information, people were asking questions that would have been answered if he had covered in the first place, and when he answered the questions, he always said that he was going to cover later, but because it was being brought up now, he'll answer it. To me, this emphasized the belief that HE DID NOT TAKE HIS JOB SERIOUSLY AND THEREFORE DID NOT TAKE FIRST AID SERIOUSLY. First Aid is life-saving information for life-threatening situations and should be held at the utmost importance. For example, he did not explain what CPR is, why or when you do, but only taught how to do it. There were questions about the person being conscious and doing CPR, etc! Ridiculous! He also did not explain what an AED was, why we use it, how it works, etc, but again only taught how to use one. One person was embarrassed when they asked why you would burn a piercing off before turning on the AED (as in, burn it off with a lighter or something) because they were not taught that an AED conducted electricity and the metal would heat up and burn the victim. I feel so sorry for the people who were taking this course for the first time because they will not have all the information taught to them, but will have to rely on the manuals provided when a situation arises.
Also there was a last minute change in the schedule of the two day course that was not communicated to the participants, no offer to let participants switch to another course date (and on the website, it states that NO TRANSFERS ARE ALLOWED!), Keenan, had the 'suck-it-up, there's-nothing-I-can-do-about-it attitude. So utterly disrespectful.
I don't mean to rap on a new instructor. It wasn't entirely his fault. His own teaching mentor ditched out on us very early on in the class and did not correct Keenan when he had missed pertinent information (apparently she had 10 years of experience teaching First Aid).
I don't know what kind of front this company is, but if you want to learn First Aid to save lives, DO NOT GET CERTIFIED HERE! Go with a company that is more reputable like St. John's or Red Cross, who may be more expensive, but the instructors are consistent and you will know how to save lives. If you still have doubts, http://globalnews.ca/news/2226720/first-aid-calgary-training-courses-not-approved-in-alberta-2/. read more
