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Across the board, most American hospitals and facilities will not accept or recognize the Heart & Stroke certifications from Canada.

Chances are, your recruiter will let you know that they need you to get 'AHA' certified. They main certifying body hospitals want in the United States is the American Heart Association and it is very important to ensure you get an AHA certification.

We recommend two AHA instructors due to their low fees, accessibility, responsiveness, speed/delivery of the courses, and for abiding by the AHA that has recognized the Heart & Stroke certifications as equivalent to the AHA courses. This means, our two providers charge and consider Canadian nurses as 'recertifications' if they already have the Heart & Stroke version (and not as a initial certification which are more expensive).

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If you end up contacting one of the providers, please let them know Kat Ann sent you. This helps the group and guarantees us a good discounted rate on the courses!

CPR 2 YOU

AZIZ

NRP

For those who need their NRP, contact Karen & David below.
Please let them know Kat Ann sent you.

Karen & David

by Kat Ann

BLS, ACLS & PALS

Both providers should recognize any Heart & Stroke certifications you already possess. The American Heart Association (AHA) has deemed the Canadian Heart & Stroke Society certifications as equivalent to that of the AHA.

Unfortunately, hospitals and facilities don't like foreign certifications regardless. The vast majority of facilities will say they ONLY accept AHA certifications which can be a big pain in the butt to have to retake (especially if your Heart & Stroke certifications are still good) and it can hurt cost-wise.

AHA providers

About the certifications, why they must be AHA, and more about the AHA policies on the Heart & Stroke Foundation

There are a LOT of scammers out there who claim to offer the AHA courses.

Some just outright scam and many others are private (not AHA instructors) and their courses may 'follow the AHA standards' but they are not, in fact, AHA certifications. It is unlikely hospitals and facilities will accept obscure certifications if they suspect they are not from the AHA.

Initially, I scouted out from other nurses recommending AHA providers or I had nurses DM me to tell me they found a great provider.

Many nurses from the Canadian Travel Nurses (to the U.S.A.) have used both providers, I'd say roughly 20-30 times each provider and I haven't heard of any issue yet.

That being said, I cannot accept any liability or responsibility for any issues that arise from using these AHA providers. Do exercise the usual amount of caution you would have dealing with any service online.

How can I be sure these providers are Legit?

Recommended in a comment section via a travel nurse facebook group, here are their prices:

BLS (initial certification):
$36 AHA + $45 CPR2YOU. Total: $81 USD

ACLS (initial certification):
$168 AHA + $75 CPR2YOU. Total: $243 USD

PALS (initial certification):
$168 AHA + $75 CPR2YOU. Total: $243 USD

BLS + ACLS combo: $190 USD
BLS + ACLS + PALS combo: $315 USD

They consider any Heart & Stroke certifications as a renewal so that makes the recertifications MUCH cheaper. Here are the renewal prices:

BLS renewal: $65 USD
ACLS renewal: $125 USD
PALS renewal: $125 USD

Here is their intake form to get started if you choose to go with them: http://forms.gle/f2fuJXxbZjDR5XbX9

Can I get information on CPR2YOU?

Recommended by a nurse in the group, Aziz also considers any Heart & Stroke certifications as a renewal so that makes the recertifications MUCH cheaper. Here are the prices:

BLS: $75 USD
ACLS: $150 USD
PALS: $150 USD

*Note: You can ask him, but I don't believe he does any discounted combos.

Here is his Facebook to message him directly: Aziz Certifications

Can I get information on Aziz?

For payments to both AHA providers, Americans don't have e-transfer via their strange banking system. Instead, you can ask them if they can do PayPal (if you don't have other options like Venmo, etc.).

Finally, just a reminder, keep your receipts in case your recruiter/agency will reimburse the cost or if not, to save the receipts to claim the costs to get certified as a possible tax deduction.