Vancouver First Aid

It's a great opportunity for me as a new immigrant in BC
Thank you to Mr Dave

I participated Standard First Aid (SFA) recertification course with Vancouver First Aid. Unfortunately, I had a few issues with the course. Firstly, the eight-hour recertification course was completed in just over three hours, which was far shorter than the scheduled time. I felt that the material was not adequately covered, and there was no time for practice.
Additionally, the recertification course was held on the second day of a full Standard First Aid course, which made things confusing for the full-course participants. They were unsure of what steps to take, how to perform them, and in what order. Luckily, as it was a recertification for me, I had a good grasp of the material. However, I felt sorry for the first-timers who seemed to have no idea what to do. Despite this, everyone in the course received their certificates. Hopefully none of them will have to act in an emergency situation.
The second issue was that I needed the certificate for employment purposes, but my employer informed me that they do not accept certificates issued by St. Mark James, the certifying body for Vancouver First Aid. My employer requires a certificate from an accredited provider in Canada, and unfortunately, St. Mark James/Vancouver First Aid is not one of them.
I tried contacting a few Red Cross providers to retake a recertification course with them, but I couldn't because my previous Red Cross certification had recently expired. Moreover, the Red Cross providers do not accept St. Mark James certificates to qualify for a recertification course, which means that I have to retake the full two-day course. What a waste of time!
I would suggest that Vancouver First Aid reviews its course content and length to ensure that it meets the required standards. It is also essential for the company to be transparent about which certificates are accepted by employers in Canada to avoid similar issues in the future. Finally, I would advise potential students to read the negative reviews of the company, as they may provide a more accurate representation of the course. The five-star reviews are from students in the

Beware, certificates are issued from Saint Mark James Training. If you require certification from Heart and Stroke, Red Cross or St John Ambulance, this isn't the place to come because your certificate will not be accepted. My teen now has to repeat her standard first aid with St John as a prerequisite for National Lifeguard, a waste of 2 days and course fee.

I took the emergency first aid and CPR (HCP) last week with Connor. ( Sorry if i spelt your name incorrectly :-) ). This was the first class i have taken in 30 years of taking CPR classess that we were actually told what to expect during emergency first aid and CPR. Expect breaking ribs, expect vomiting, expect bystanders not to help, expect so many things. He gave a real perspective on what you will go through as a First Aider. Thanks Connor, hope to get you again as an instructor.

The Standard First Aid was good quality and Kyle, the instructor had plenty of professional background experience. I have taken several military and civilian First Aid courses and I thought that this one was to the point with no frills. I feel more confident with this recent refresher training.

David is great. He keeps it interesting, varies the delivery (lecture vs hands on), he encourages you to stretch if you're losing focus, he's flexible with breaks, etc.

Communication between admins and the instructor is really bad. Waited for an hour for the second day of class and no one showed up. Had to call and find out what was happening, they ended up cancelling the class. I thought it just happened to us but apparently someone went through something similar in which they cancelled the class and didn't notify her. a waste of time!!!

the program is good and the stuff he teaches are relevant but the organizing problems make it not worth it

I've been here twice: first to take my CPR-Health Care Provider & AED course for $75, and then a year later (the certification itself is valid for 3 years, but my nursing program requires that I recertify every year) to get recertified for $50. The prices are on the more affordable side compared to other places, but the facility itself is not glamorous. However, it gets the job done!

I'm also not sure if this place is really car friendly, its hard to find street parking thats 2hr+ in that area. However, theres a #25 bus stop right across the street.

Being stuck for 4-6 hours going over what feels like common sense to me is kind of mentally draining, and you have to kneel a lot (they have knee pads which barely help at all) which is really my only complaint. Some of the dummies need to be replaced as well. The instructors are nice and informative!

This place is also super hard to spot. Basically, look for the car shop/Subway on the corner. It's the door right next to it. Bring something to snack on as you do sometimes get short breaks.

Excellent! And david Van is just great. Not your usual boring first aid training at all!

First time attending a recertification class for First Aid / CPR and it was great.
The instructor (Julianne) was knowledgeable and a good communicator. I was able to understand what was expected from me and what to expect from the course during the first 10 min.
The room and equipment were adequate considering these courses run non-stop.
Perhaps the online registration system could provide some of the information that the instructor gave in the beginning (expectations, schedule, etc) so one can better prepare for the rest of the working day.