ASHI and MEDIC First Aid Blog

With two emergency care training brands under our HSI roof, some of our readers might wonder what the heck the difference is. Or, if you’re thinking of becoming a CPR, AED, and first aid instructor yourself, which brand is right for you?

Both ASHI and MEDIC First Aid offer easy-to-learn programs tailored to the adult learner. They are also user-friendly for the instructor and both are managed through the Otis learning management system. Most importantly, both help build the confidence students need to respond in an emergency.

MEDIC First Aid — the workplace solution
MEDIC First Aid programs are truly geared towards use in a corporate or workplace setting. Our video footage contextualizes the emergency care knowledge and techniques in a work environment, making training applicable and relevant to the adult learners taking the classes.

It’s also an excellent choice for in-house personnel who are tasked with training others in their organization. Now, we understand that safety professionals or HR personnel may be very reluctant to become the company “expert” in such medical-related subjects or may not have a lot of experience as an instructor in a classroom. So MEDIC First Aid programs follow a standardized, set curriculum, giving the first-time instructor everything he or she needs to confidently present the material covered by the course. 

This curriculum-driven approach is ideal for multi-location companies that need consistent training across their organization. All the MEDIC First Aid-authorized instructors in the company will present the same content the same way for each class.

ASHI — flexibility for the more experienced instructor
Many of our instructors come to us with some form of emergency care experience. EMTs, nurses, instructors from different training brands, and others find their home with ASHI’s more “toolkit” approach to teaching. The programs include skill guides, DVDs, and PowerPoint presentations, so you can tailor your classes to the way you like to teach.

While ASHI is also an excellent fit for workplace training, the brand offers a range of programs for the lay provider up through the medical professional as well as other specialized training. Examples include CPR Pro for the Professional Rescuer, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and Child and Babysitting Safety. If a training business wants to expand into these sorts of class offerings, and the instructors meet the requirements to offer them, ASHI has you covered.

Both ASHI and MEDIC First Aid require that an instructor be authorized to teach the programs. To learn more about that process, contact us at 800.447.3177 and we’ll step you through it.

Meanwhile, if you’re new to this whole emergency care training thing but curious to see if this is a good career for you, please download our eBook Work that Touches the Heart for a little background and a dose of inspiration about this incredibly rewarding line of work.

Whichever brand you choose, thank you for your interest in making protecting and saving lives easy.