I previously wrote about the pricing changes the AHA made this past week for Heartsaver courses. The trickle down effect has had me looking a lot more closely at what I provide and charge at all my classes.
One of the points discussed in several instructor forums was that some instructors did not provide books to their students, so the impact of the increased card fee is more steep for them than for the instructors who have always provided books. I provide books to all my Heartsaver students, but I realized I was not providing them in all my BLS classes. I was offering loaner books in my accelerated BLS class, which was in violation of the AHA Program Administration Manual. I was doing that to try to keep the costs as low as possible for renewing providers. However the new BLS exam is open resource, so a book is a necessity. So is taking good notes during the class. I strongly suggest bringing a notebook to your BLS class.
Beginning in November the course charge for the Accelerated BLS class will increase by $15. The book is an additional $13.25 and the remaining $1.75 helps to offset my shipping expenses when I order the book.
In addition I will now be offering the option for an ebook. The cost for any BLS course with an ebook will be a little lower since I do not have to pay shipping for print books. The ebook code will be included in the email course confirmation I send out.
There are now 3 options when registering for a BLS class: Print book picked up before or at the class, ebook emailed before the class for a decreased cost, or print book mailed before the class. Print books mailed out have an additional $3.50 charge for postage and my trip to the post office.
If you already have your own copy of the current 2016 edition of the BLS Provider book please email me to register so I can adjust the course charge for you. I am not going to charge you or provide you with a copy of a book you already own. You always have the option of purchasing books on your own through any of the Authorized AHA Distributors.
Once we have hit the 2 year mark for the release of the new BLS Provider course there will be a lower cost option of no book, as long as the participants bring their own current 2016 edition of the book with them to the class. Otherwise the participant will be provide with, and charged for, a new book.