An ABLS Instructor is a certified educator qualified to teach the ABLS Live provider course, which prepares clinicians to assess and manage burn patients in the first critical 24 hours after injury. Instructors are subject-matter experts in burn care and teaching methodology.

To be eligible for the ABLS Instructor Course you must:

1. Be an active member of the American Burn Association (ABA).
2. Hold current ABLS certification from the Live course for at least 12 months. The online ABLS Now alone does not qualify.
3. Have clinical experience in burn care:
4. Minimum 3 years of current burn center experience with a clinical degree (physician, nurse, PA, NP, OT, PT). Paramedics must be affiliated with an ABA-verified burn center and regularly participate in center programs. If your clinical degree isn’t listed, you may need a letter of intent and support from your burn center’s medical director for committee approval.

📜 Certification Process

Step 1: Complete the Instructor Course

After meeting prerequisites and finishing the instructor workshop, you become an Instructor Candidate.

Step 2: Teaching Observations

Within 1 year of completing the instructor course, you must be observed teaching in two ABLS Live courses by National Faculty and successfully teach:

• At least two different lectures (e.g., Initial Assessment, Airway/Inhalation Injury, Shock & Fluid Resuscitation, Pediatric Burns) across the observations.
• Case study and patient assessment sessions (different ones in each observation).

After successful observations, you are fully certified as an ABLS Instructor.