Certifying for CPR and new instructors

Dana Varble, DVM, CAE, chief veterinary officer for the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC), recently spoke to dvm360 about the RECOVER CPR certification course offered at the NAVC SkillShop event in Orlando, Florida. This multi-day course includes CPR certification as well as instructor certification. In the interview, Varble explained the potential impact that these newly certified instructors can have on the veterinary profession and, ultimately, the lives of animals.

The following is a transcript of the video:

Dana Varble, DVM, CAE:We're offering the instructor certification. So Wednesday is teaching people who are already CPR RECOVER certified how to be an instructor, how to evaluate others. The real important thing about that is, when we do that type of course, and we're teaching people how to teach, the education is amplified. I'm not just teaching the [24] people in the [sold out] course, but I'm teaching those 24 people that then turn and teach not just 24 more people, but hopefully hundreds of other people. So, this is the kind of ripple that you commit to. You do it at SkillShop, and then you send all the folks that have passed the instructor portion out to spread the message to be able to teach people in their community and their location. And it really amplifies the message of both RECOVER and NAVC, where we are creating a profession that has the skills information, the scientific background and the practical knowledge to apply really important skills that can save pets…Teach people Wednesday, Thursday [and] they could absolutely go do CPR on Friday. So that's the great thing.