Recognition by healthcare professionals

First Aid & CPR Montana

In health care, keeping clinical skills current is central to safe practice. For nurses in Montana this is now a professional expectation rather than a fixed CE requirement; for direct-care and personal-care workers, first aid and CPR are commonly required for the role. Here is what applies to your role, and how recognized, up-to-date, documented training meets it.

Health professionals: continuing education and up-to-date skills

Nurses in Montana are licensed and overseen by the Montana Board of Nursing. The state's 24 contact-hour continuing-education requirement was repealed effective November 18, 2023, so RN renewal no longer carries a mandatory CE total. The Board nonetheless expects nurses to keep the knowledge and skills their practice requires.

Under the Montana Nurse Practice Act and the Board's standards, a nurse must maintain competence and be able to act in an emergency. Basic life support (BLS) is, in practice, an employer and hospital requirement rather than a licence condition — a credential most clinical roles must hold and keep valid.

Because Montana repealed its 24-hour continuing-education requirement in November 2023, RNs no longer have a mandatory licence-CE total for a CPR or BLS certificate to count toward; keeping those skills current remains expected and is generally driven by your employer.

The requirement is met by any recognized continuing-education activity on an eligible topic. CPR/AED, ACLS (advanced cardiovascular life support) and PALS are among the eligible activities; other topics also qualify (for example safe prescribing, suicide prevention or violence prevention). A single course therefore both meets the obligation and counts toward your hours — provided you keep the proof.

Eligible courses offered in your region

How training becomes recognized

Not all activities are equal. For continuing education to be recognized by a professional order, it must meet specific criteria:

  • the instructor’s competence;
  • the relevance and quality of the content;
  • the training framework;
  • the quality of the material provided;
  • mechanisms to monitor and assess participation.

Our training is designed to meet these criteria.

Rigorous online learning

Our training draws on the latest medical research and combines practical modules with a theoretical assessment. The resulting certification is credible and verifiable — presentable to your professional order and to your employer — and prepares you to excel in your practice.

Support and care staff: a certificate required to work

A CPR and first-aid course does not replace occupational training — it is added to it. To work with vulnerable people, a valid first-aid certificate is often required in addition to your professional training.

For direct-care and personal-care roles, Montana's assisted-living rules require trained staff on premises, and CPR and first-aid certification is commonly required of direct-care workers. The role calls for a valid first-aid and CPR certificate in addition to occupational training: a recognized standalone certificate meets that expectation and must be renewed to stay current.

See the recognized training for this role

Attestation, certificate and invoice: proof your training is recognized

On successful completion, you receive:

  • an official attestation;
  • a certificate of completion;
  • a detailed invoice;
  • online access to your documents for as long as your certification remains valid.

These documents are the proof to present to your professional order to credit your hours, or to your employer to demonstrate your compliance.

For organizations: keep your team compliant

When the certificate is an employer requirement, the real challenge is tracking. Our organization system manages a team’s training: a certification dashboard, deadline tracking, automatic renewal reminders and proof archiving. An organization keeps its whole staff current without watching every date by hand.

Training aligned with the latest emergency-care standards

Our CPR, AED and first-aid training is developed in line with the most recent international guidelines for emergency cardiovascular care and first aid.

We rigorously follow the recommendations of ILCOR (International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation), the international body responsible for the scientific evaluation and development of global resuscitation standards. These recommendations serve as a reference for health organizations, institutions and professional orders worldwide — and are updated as scientific and clinical evidence evolves.

Keep your skills current with confidence

Every intervention can make a difference. Keeping CPR and emergency-care skills current is both a professional requirement and a responsibility toward patients, colleagues and the public.

See all health-care courses

References

Content is being updated.