BLS, SIR, SVR: which CPR course for health staff?

Health staff do not buy “a CPR course”. They buy a specific card, issued by a specific body, which their employer or placement site will recognize — or not. And since each body names its program its own way, the same competence circulates under at least three acronyms. That is where money is lost: a day of training, the right content, the wrong card.

The acronyms, and who uses them

Three names come up for the same level — basic life support for professionals.

• SIR — Soins immédiats en réanimation. The program of Heart & Stroke (Fondation des maladies du cœur et de l’AVC), whose material is aligned with the American Heart Association’s.
• SVR — Soins vitaux en réanimation. The equivalent course from the Canadian Red Cross for healthcare professionals.
• BLS — Basic Life Support. The international term. It is what SIR and SVR designate, not a third program.
• ACLS — Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support. A level above, not a synonym: it assumes the basic level already.

Other bodies have their own titles — the Société de sauvetage, for instance, offers “CPR for healthcare providers”. The title changes; the level does not.

And if you have seen “SVB” go by: check before relying on it. It is not the name of the programs offered here by Heart & Stroke or the Red Cross, which say SIR and SVR.

What gets checked is not the acronym

An employer checking a card does not compare acronyms: they look at who issued it. An internal policy says “SIR from Heart & Stroke” or “SVR from the Red Cross”, rarely “a BLS-level course”. Two cards of equivalent content may therefore not be interchangeable in the eyes of an HR department.

Hence the method, three questions to ask before booking:

• The exact name of the expected course.
• The accrediting body expected.
• The validity period accepted — which is not always the one printed on the card.

An email to HR costs five minutes. A registration to redo costs a day.

What your order says, and what it does not

The next confusion comes from there: people expect their professional order to designate a course. That is generally not what it does.

The Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec, for example, addresses CPR as a matter of deontological obligations: begin the manoeuvres unless otherwise indicated, and keep your competencies current according to generally recognized practice standards. That is an obligation of competence, not a prescription of a program.

In other words: your order tells you that you must be able; your employer tells you which card proves it. Requirements vary between orders and change over time — for yours, consult your order directly rather than a third-party page, this one included.

What sets the professional version apart

A public course prepares one person acting alone until help arrives. The professional version starts from a different assumption: you will not be alone, and you will have equipment. In practice, these courses generally cover:

• two-rescuer resuscitation, with assigned roles and rotation;
• bag-mask ventilation rather than mouth-to-mouth;
• ratios and rates specific to clinical practice;
• early recognition of deterioration, before arrest.

That is also why a public course does not “count” as the professional version even when it is more recent: it is not the same content, and the card carries a different designation.

One year, two years?

No regulation sets that duration for healthcare professionals. It comes from the accrediting body, and one-year validity is common in this field — the pace is not administrative: skills degrade quickly without repetition.

Your employer may require shorter than the card states. When both exist, the shorter one applies — the subject is covered in detail separately.

In a workplace, your title already counts

A point few clinics know, and one that can avoid an extra course.

Since February 12, 2026, the CNESST regulation recognizes as a first aider a nurse, as well as a licensed practical nurse, whom the employer designates to act in that role — with no additional first aid certificate.

Do not conflate the two levels, though: it exempts you from the workplace first aider certificate, not from the CPR card your employer requires for care. They are two distinct requirements, and they do not cancel each other out. The first aider calculation is explained separately.

Before booking

Write down the exact name and the expected body, then check that the course you choose issues that card. Compare prices afterwards, never before: a cheaper course that does not match the requirement is not a saving.

The regulatory facts cited here are current as of September 2026. The requirements of a professional order or an employer can only be verified with them.

See courses for healthcare professionals and their dates, or the prices charged in Quebec.

Sources: Heart & Stroke — CPR programs; Canadian Red Cross — Soins vitaux en réanimation (SVR); OIIQ — CPR and deontological obligations; Regulation respecting minimum standards for first aid and first aid kits (CQLR A-3.001, r. 10), section 1.