Nanaimo OFA Level 1 or Equivalent

While Red Cross Standard First Aid IS recognized by Worksafe BC as equivalent to an OFA 1 certification, this doesn’t quite mean that they are the same. If a job requires Standard First Aid, an OFA 1 certification would NOT be acceptable. This is because Standard First Aid is a more comprehensive 2 day course where an OFA Level 1 course is only 1 day, and less comprehensive. One other difference is that the OFA 1 course is designed by Worksafe BC and focuses specifically on caring for injured coworkers, while Standard First Aid covers a broad spectrum of contexts such as injuries that happen in the community or in the home.

Standard First Aid is pretty well defined in Canada to mean a 2 day comprehensive “lay rescuer” course that includes CPR training. There aren’t many courses that are equivalent to Standard First Aid without that name, but Marine Basic First Aid is one example of a certification that is equivalent - this course is based on Standard First Aid but also includes a few topics specific to the marine environment.

Occupational First Aid Level 1 (OFA 1) is an 8 hour course that prepares workers to be first aid attendants in relatively low risk environments where a hospital is close by. This course is designed by Worksafe BC and focuses specifically on caring for injured coworkers. Participants will learn basic first aid skills and knowledge that are essential for handling life threatening emergencies, as well as handling more common minor injuries that can happen in the workplace. Red Cross Emergency First Aid, and Red Cross Standard First Aid are now officially recognized by Worksafe BC as equivalent to OFA 1.

This question is complicated since there are a number of different types of first aid courses. For Occupational First Aid, there are 3 levels of first aid, simply named OFA Level 1, OFA Level 2, and OFA Level 3. If you work in a marine environment and are required by Transport Canada to be certified in first aid, then there is Marine Basic First Aid and Marine Advanced First Aid. For first aid for those responsible for people in the community there is Emergency First Aid and Standard First Aid. If you are caring specifically for children, Emergency Childcare First Aid is probably the best fit. If you are interested in first for the outdoors or remote situations (or are required to take first aid as an outdoor guide) then there is the 20 hour Remote First Aid, or more advanced 40 hour Wilderness First Aid. There is also an 80 hour Wilderness First Responder course for professional responders responding to remote emergencies. For the professional responders there is also the 40 hour First Responder course and the more advanced Emergency Medical Responder.

Occupational First Aid Level 1 (OFA 1) is an 8 hour course that prepares workers to be first aid attendants in relatively low risk environments where a hospital is close by. This course is designed by Worksafe BC and focuses specifically on caring for injured coworkers. Participants will learn basic first aid skills and knowledge that are essential for handling life threatening emergencies, as well as handling more common minor injuries that can happen in the workplace. Red Cross Emergency First Aid, and Red Cross Standard First Aid are now officially recognized by Worksafe BC as equivalent to OFA 1.

Worksafe BC OFA Level 1 is a one day course meant to train a First Aid attendant in the basic skills necessary to provide first aid in low-risk environments, or for a smaller number of workers. Level 2 however is a 5 day intensive course geared toward training First Aid attendants who might be responsible for a large number of workers and more dangerous job sites. OFA Level 2 also involves much more rigorous practical skills testing to make sure that everyone who is certified has demonstrated that they are ready to put their first aid skills into action when a real emergency happens on the job