There is no doubt that doing a first aid course in person is better than an online course. Purpose-built mannequins help you by “working” when you use the right techniques for resuscitation breaths and chest compressions. At my first first aid course, my partner and I thought ours was broken until our instructor corrected us.
On the other hand, what if distance or scheduling clashes stop you from attending a course in person? While in-person training is ideal, online courses, as recommended in this Best Courses Guide (BCG) to First Aid, are an alternative.
These online courses, created by medical professionals – doctors or paramedics, teach you what to do to assist patients in emergencies. Whether you’re looking after children, stopping an injured person bleeding, or helping someone who’s having a seizure or choking, there’s a course for you. We’ve done the legwork, using Class Central, a search engine for online courses with over 140 first aid courses and more than 8,000 people following the subject, and other sites to handpick the top online first aid courses.
These courses are created by well-known institutions: International Red Cross, St Johns Ambulance among others. And we’ve even included a course for workers in a disaster situation to cope with psychological trauma both for victims and themselves as first responders.
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Which First Aid Course Is Right for You?
Best Free First Aid Course with Handbook and Certificate (Save a Life Certifications by NHCPS)
Learn CPR, AED and First Aid with 7 Steps! is a free course from Save a Life Certifications by NHCPS with a free certificate. You can also download a free, 58-page PDF titled “CPR, AED & First Aid Provider Handbook” by Dr. Karl Disque. The course covers first aid, medical problems, injuries, CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation), AED (how to use an automated external defibrillator), and choking in adults, children, and infants.
If you find the robotic-sounding voice in many of the videos irritating, read the handbook for all the information.
Save A Life by NHCPS is a non-profit online medical certification organization partnering with the Disque Foundation in an effort to empower 10 million people worldwide how to save lives by 2025. Other free courses From Save A Life by NHCPS are First Aid & Basic Life Support (BLS), Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), AED & First Aid, and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS).
According to Gabriel F., “This is truly a life saving course! Simple yet well detailed topics.”
| Provider | Udemy |
| Institution | Save a Life Certifications by NHCPS |
| Time Commitment | 3-4 hours |
| Rating | 4.5 (2.1K provider ratings) |
| Enrollment | 38.1K |
| Cost | Free |
| Certificate | Free |
Best University First Aid Course (University of Colorado System)
So, you’re hiking in the wilderness and your friend is injured or suffers a medical episode. What to do? Try to help on the spot? Run to find someone else who can help? Arrange for evacuation? Wilderness First Aid – Medical Emergencies from University of Colorado System covers a range of scenarios including when you may be out of cell phone range, and helps you decide the best course of action for the particular situation.
And don’t forget that knowledge of first aid can also be useful in other circumstances, such as natural disasters when communications and usual medical facilities may have broken down.
The course is part of the Wilderness First Aid Specialization, which also includes Wilderness First Aid – Introduction, Wilderness First Aid – Traumatic Emergencies, and Wilderness First Aid – Environmental Emergencies.
Bill Alsobrook was keen: “Great information and very well written and produced course that provides the information that may prove invaluable in a life and death situation”
| Provider | Coursera |
| University | University of Colorado System |
| Instructor | Elaine Reno, MD, A.W. Lukens, Angela Wright, MD, and Kelly Shiller |
| Time Commitment | 5 hours |
| Rating | 4.8 (42 provider ratings) |
| Enrollment | 5.1K |
| Cost | Paid |
| Certificate | Paid |
Most Popular Free Online Course (St John Ambulance)
All First Aid Advice & First Aid Training by St John Ambulance is a free playlist of more than 50 videos covering many aspects of first aid. As well as CPR and using a defibrillator, you will learn what to do if someone is having a seizure, a stroke, choking, diabetic emergency, heat stress and heat stroke, frostbite, fracture, spinal cord injury, allergies and asthma, plus more. There are even a few videos in Hindi, and one in British sign language. The first (introductory) video in the playlist is not currently available, but you won’t lose any knowledge by skipping it.
St John Ambulance was founded in England in 1877 and now has branches in many countries. Other online courses from St John Ambulance with more than 100K views each are First Aid for the Workplace – First Aid at Work and Emergency First Aid.
| Provider | YouTube |
| Institution | St John Ambulance |
| Time Commitment | 2-3 hours |
| Views | 1M |
| Cost | Free |
| Certificate | No |
Best First Aid for Children Course (MedScreen – Preventative Medicine)
When my children were small, sometimes I would be unsure whether or not to call the doctor when they were sick or injured. First Aid, and Children’s Health: Your Complete Guide offers basic yet crucial knowledge for anyone caring for children, emphasizing immediate response to emergencies. While not a substitute for professional medical care, it empowers caregivers with the ability to take effective action and potentially save lives.
Whether you’re a current or future parent, babysitter, or any other role dealing with children, this course could help. Taught by a doctor, you’ll learn essential first aid skills specific to child care, such as what to do in many common situations and when to call on professional help. Common situations include choking, fractures, allergic reactions, infections, and seizures.
Isabela L. says, “I love this course, easy to watch.”
| Provider | Udemy |
| Institution | MedScreen – Preventative Medicine |
| Time Commitment | 2 hours |
| Provider Rating | 4.7 (659 ratings) |
| Enrollment | 7.3K |
| Cost | Paid |
| Certificate | Paid |
Best Psychological First Aid Course (John Hopkins University)
On Class Central’s Best Courses of All Time list, Psychological First Aid is designed to equip you with the skills to provide psychological first aid using the RAPID (Reflective listening, Assessment of needs, Prioritization, Intervention, and Disposition) model in various emergency situations. The course covers the application of the RAPID model across different settings such as public health, the workplace, military, and community incidents.
You will learn to identify and differentiate between non-severe and severe psychological crises, provide immediate relief, prioritize mental health interventions, and facilitate further mental health support when necessary. The course also emphasizes the importance of self-care for providers.
It isn’t a course for treating physical injuries, but looks at psychological issues.
Heather says: “It was a very concise and interesting course. I had taken it as I am in ministry work and felt that this would be helpful…”
| Provider | Coursera |
| Institution | Johns Hopkins University |
| Instructor | Dr. George Everly, Jr. |
| Time Commitment | 6-7 hours |
| Rating | 4.8 (20.2K ratings) |
| Enrollment | 621K |
| Cost | Paid |
| Certificate | Paid |
Best Site for Online First Aid Courses (National CPR Foundation)
Check out the National CPR Foundation for online courses with certificates that are valid for two years. Choose from Basic Life Support (BLS), Standard – CPR /AED, Standard – First-Aid, CPR / AED / First-Aid, Healthcare – CPR / AED, and Bloodborne Pathogens. Courses are text-based with some images.
Diana V. says, “Very easy to read and follow instructions. The time to take the class and test are optimal especially since it is all on line.”
| Course | Various |
| Institution | National CPR Foundation |
| Time Commitment | Various |
| Number of Certified Customers | 875K |
| Rating | 4.8 (229K ratings) |
| Cost | Free |
| Certificate | Paid |
Also Great Site for Online First Aid Courses (Red Cross)
American Red Cross Training Services offers a range of online courses with a disclaimer: some workplaces may not accept online training because you can’t demonstrate the practical aspects to your trainer. But if you can’t get to an in-person course and want to learn about general or specific facets of first aid, CPR, AED, or water safety, take a look at the Red Cross offerings. They even have a couple of courses designed to teach children aged 11 or older how to cope if an emergency arises while they are babysitting.
| Course | Various |
| Institution | American Red Cross Training Services |
| Time Commitment | Various |
| Cost | Paid |
| Certificate | No |
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