= having the authority to authorise courses (for course types where there is thus self-sufficiency), to approve and/or to appoint course organisers (COs), course directors (CDs), and instructors, and to monitor the quality of the courses that are run.
‘Having the resources, expertise, and experience to run courses, and having demonstrated an ability and
commitment to maintain the quality of training agreed with the ERC.’
In the context of countries/national resuscitation councils (NRCs)
1. A country applying for self-sufficiency needs to have an NRC with an Agreement (of cooperation and
recognition) with the ERC.
2. This agreement includes recognition of ERC courses of specified disciplines, e.g. BLS/AED; ALS/ EPLS;
etc., run in that country. The NRC makes a separate application to the ERC for each discipline for which self-sufficiency is
requested.
This application contains the following information:
(a) Name of the applicant and standing within the NRC
(b) Discipline of course for which self-sufficiency is requested
(c) List of course directors within the discipline with details of their Experience (or refer to COSY)
(d) List of course organisers and instructors within the discipline
(e) List of courses of the discipline run within the previous 2 years
(f) Evidence that all criteria for the grant of self-sufficiency have been met or, if any criterion has not
been met, an explanation and argument to be considered by the appropriate SEC
4. The NRC agrees to recognise all ERC CDs and instructors of the specified disciplines from all other
countries.
5. The NRC agrees that a course or courses can be inspected by representatives of the relevant SEC(s)
every 3 years, or more frequently if there is evidence that agreed procedures are not being followed. These visits shall be at the expense of the NRC according to ERC travel regulations.
7. The NRC must accept such audit systems as put in place by the ERC, which may include further inspection
visits.
8. In settings where there is no self-sufficient NRC, course centers can sign a Course Collaboration
Agreement directly with ERC and under supervision of the relevant SEC. This CCA is valid for 2 years.
MORE DETAILED CRITERIA FOR SELF-SUFFICIENCY
RESOURCES
These include human (sufficient qualified and available instructors), administrative (course organisers and CDs with
proven ability and willingness to use CoSY), and material (suitable and adequate venues and equipment, such as
manikins) for courses.
Course Organisers should have successfully organised a minimum number of courses each year.
The ERC guidelines for equipment and venue facilities should be followed, and feedback (COSY survey results; from the Course Directors
and/or from candidates) would be needed to ensure adherence to these guidelines.
The NRC should accept the Course Organiser criteria of the ERC as minimum criteria and should assess each Course
Organiser at least on a 2-year basis.
EXPERTISE
All ERC instructors used on courses within the jurisdiction of the NRC should be fully trained and have
demonstrated their ability to teach. COSY provides information regarding the qualification and updating of
instructors and there is already a system in place for monitoring upgrades.
EXPERIENCE
A sufficient number of (successful) courses should have been run by, or on behalf of the NRC to ensure that the CDs,
COs, and instructors gain sufficient teaching experience.
There are already rules in place to ensure that instructors teach on a minimum number of courses, or they revert to
IP status.
QUALITY
NRCs should be responsible (through their CDs) for ensuring that details of each course, the names of instructors,
and feedback information from candidates are added to the CMS.
NRCs should be prepared to assess the courses, using the Audit Tool as provided by the ERC, and should accept
audits by the ERC.
NRCs should be prepared and able to handle course-related appeals in accordance with the procedure detailed in
the ERC Course Rules document.