EFRT

The EFRT office is located in MUSC Room 103.

Hours of Operation:

24/7 throughout the academic year (September through April, except Thanksgiving, Easter, campus holiday breaks and both reading weeks)

Summer Hours (May through August): Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm (except on statutory holidays)

How to Contact EFRT

• Dial “88” from any campus phone.
• Call a McMaster Security Dispatcher at 905-522-4135 on any cellphone.
• Contact Security Services through the red emergency poles located around campus.
• Use the McMaster University Security Service and Transportation (MUSST) app, which is available for download on your smartphone.
• Visit the EFRT office located in the McMaster University Student Centre room 103, to the right of the Compass

What to Expect When You Call EFRT

If the EFRT is called, a team of three responders carrying various medical equipment will be dispatched to your location through Campus Security. When on scene, responders are trained to assess many different situations including musculoskeletal and soft-tissue injuries, airway and breathing compromises, intoxication or drug related emergencies, diabetic emergencies, cardiac arrest and many more. If further medical attention is required, the EFRT will contact Hamilton EMS or advise patients to visit the Urgent Care Center. Although the EFRT deals with patients in many different states and situations, we are a strictly confidential service.

The Emergency First Response Team offers First Aid and CPR courses throughout the year under Canadian Red Cross standards. These courses are approved by the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and will meet the requirements set out by your employer and/or faculty. Please remember to register early as our courses tend to fill up weeks in advance. All certifications last for 3 years except the CPR-BLS certification (which lasts 1 year) and all courses are certified by the Red Cross. 

Please contact your employer or faculty if you are unsure which course you should be taking as there are several options which may or may not include the first aid component. 

First aid training courses include: 

• CPR/AED (Level A or C) 

• CPR/AED (Level A or C) Recertification 

• CPR/AED (Basic Life Support) 

• CPR/AED (Basic Life Support) Recertification 

• Intermediate/Standard First Aid & CPR/AED (Level A or C) 

• Intermediate/Standard First Aid & CPR/AED (Level A or C) Recertification 

• Intermediate/Standard First Aid & CPR/AED (BLS) 

• Basic/Emergency First Aid & CPR/AED (Level A or C) 

• Basic/Emergency First Aid & CPR/AED (Level A or C) Recertification 

For full descriptions and details of each course please visit the Red Cross website by following the link below: 

Red Cross First Aid Courses 

Note: If you need any special accommodations to take a course (difficulty hearing, vision, etc.) please contact efrtad@msu.mcmaster.ca after signing up. Be sure to include the course you are taking and how we can best accommodate you. 

To coordinate a private or group course, please fill out this Microsoft Form. 

If you have any additional questions, please contact the EFRT Assistant Director at efrtad@msu.mcmaster.ca. All courses are held on McMaster campus. Participants will be sent an email with room number and further details the day prior to the course. 

Need a new certification card? 

The Red Cross is no longer handing out paper copies of certifications. If you have lost your card, please contact the Red Cross (1-877-356-3226) to verify your certification. They will email you a link to access an online account through which you can view your certifications. 

Course Fees 

Note: If you are registering for a blended course you must register before the Wednesday prior to the course in order to ensure you have time to complete the online content prior to the in-person segment. Please register for any in-person courses by 12:00 noon the Thursday prior to your course. Any exceptions must be approved by emailing efrtad@msu.mcmaster.ca. 

Online registration & payment by clicking the button above or following the link here. 

Participants are only eligible for a full refund if the cancellation is made at least one week in advance of the course start time. After this date, participants can only receive a refund for half the course value or be transferred to another course. 

Please ensure that you contact EFRT’s Assistant Director via email (efrtad@msu.mcmaster.ca) prior to the one-week deadline to receive your refund. 

Please keep in mind that if you miss a course with no prior notice, we will not be able to provide you with any reimbursements. 

Thank you for your interest in joining McMaster’s Emergency First Response Team (EFRT). EFRT applications for the 2026-2027 academic year open on August 24, 2026 — start the process by clicking here. The full job posting for the application is available here. Applications close on September 13, 2026 @ 11:59PM. Applying early is recommended as the application process moves quickly.   

The application process occurs at the beginning of the academic year and is split up into three separate sections:  

1. Online application and a written Intermediate First Aid (IFA) test  

1. Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)  

1. Two Orientation weekends  

Important Dates: 

Online Application 

In the first part of the tryout process, candidates are required to fill out an online application, which involves providing some personal information and answering a few written questions. Candidates are also required to confirm their availability for the orientation dates above and to verify that they understand what is expected of them throughout the application process. The online application is available here.  

Written Intermediate First Aid Test 

All candidates who submit an online application automatically move to the  written test and are expected to write it. Candidates will write a 45-minute closed-book multiple-choice and short-answer test based on their Intermediate First Aid and CPR-C knowledge. If you are submitting the written application, you must also write the IFA Test to be considered a candidate for the 2026-2027 EFRT application cycle. This test is to be completed on a drop-in basis as indicated on the written application. From the initial applicant pool, approximately 75 of the top candidates will be chosen to move on to the next step.  

Multiple Mini Interviews 

At this time, applicants will be asked to submit a photocopy or image of their valid Intermediate First Aid and CPR-C certification. This certification is necessary to move forward in the application process. Candidates will not be allowed to continue to Orientation without providing proof of certification. If evidence cannot be provided by the deadline due to a course in progress or other extenuating circumstances, please email efrtad@msu.mcmaster.ca for potential accommodation. The online submission form will be available after interviews via email.   

The top ~75 candidates from the written application and written Intermediate First Aid test will be granted a spot in the interview stage. A sign-up link will be emailed to the top 75 candidates, and applicants must sign up for a time slot to interview. If you are unavailable for any of the interview time slots, please email efrtad@msu.mcmaster.ca, and we will try our best to accommodate you, but this is not guaranteed.  

Candidates will participate in several short (5 min) standard interview stations and Intermediate First Aid scenario stations. It is recommended that candidates review their first aid skills prior to the interview. Out of the interviewed applicants, approximately 42 of the top candidates will be chosen to move to the next step.  

Orientation Weekends 

Orientation is a process that attempts to bring all candidates to the same level of training, work on candidate team skills, and give each candidate a look into the inner workings of the EFRT. The candidates that move onto this final step will receive the EFRT Candidate Manual. The manual contains all the material that will be taught throughout the rest of the tryout process. Additionally, there will be a series of optional workshops held/sent prior to Orientation to introduce some of this material. It is recommended that candidates attend/watch all the workshops and review the material within the manual prior to attending the first orientation weekend. There are two orientation weekends that candidates must attend.  

Orientation Weekend One 

On the first Friday, candidates will be given the opportunity to meet the active EFRT team members who will be responsible for candidate training and evaluation over the orientation process. Candidates will also be split into their small groups and assigned into teams of three. Candidates will work with their team throughout the orientation process. In these small groups, candidates will get a chance to participate in icebreakers with other candidates in their group and with the EFRT group leaders. Over the next two days, candidates will learn the material required for the tryouts in a series of lectures and small group practice sessions. Lectures will be taught both by active team and alumni members.  

Orientation Weekend Two 

For the second weekend of orientation, candidates will be evaluated both individually and in groups during simulated scenarios. On the Friday evening, candidates will have the opportunity to review concepts and fine-tune their skills for the upcoming evaluation the next day through a mock evaluation. On Saturday, candidates will work with their assigned teams to respond to approximately 10 simulated emergency situations located around the McMaster Campus. These are designed to represent possible emergencies that can occur on campus and include simulated casualties with volunteer actors. On Sunday, candidates will be tested individually in two final scenarios to demonstrate their ability to complete all required assessments on their own. Success in both the group scenarios and individual scenarios is necessary to be selected for the team.  

Throughout the week between the orientation weekends, EFRT members will hold practice sessions in the evening from Monday to Friday. Although these sessions are not mandatory, it is strongly recommended that you attend as many as possible. At these sessions, candidates will get the chance to practice responding to simulated situations and will receive feedback from the EFRT instructors. These practice sessions not only allow candidates to practice their skills but will also give them the opportunity to practice with their team members.  

Although the number varies each year, approximately 13-15 candidates will successfully become members of the EFRT after the orientation process. Candidates are usually given their results within a couple of days following the second orientation weekend.  

1. When is the next available Intermediate First Aid and CPR course?

The EFRT offers a number of first aid courses during the summer and academic terms. Please visit the MSU store website here to view dates and register for courses. 

2. Where is my course?

This information will be emailed to you a few days prior to your course. This is to ensure there is time for everybody to register for courses. 

3. How much does each course cost?

Please see the Fees, Registration & Payment section above for information about course pricing. 

4. Why haven’t I received an email yet?

Currently, you will receive your confirmation email the Friday prior to the course for in-class courses and two weeks before the course for blended courses. If you would like more time to work on the blended content email efrtad@msu.mcmaster.ca and early access can be arranged. We are moving towards a platform that sends automatic confirmation emails, but for the time being, if you don’t get any error messages or other oddities you can assume that your registration was successful. 

5. Where is my certificate?

The Red Cross no longer issues paper certificates, instead, you will access your certificate via a profile you create https://myrc.redcross.ca/ This includes a code that employers can use to verify your certification. Typically certificates are processed by the Friday following the course, but if you require it sooner please email: efrtad@msu.mcmaster.ca as soon as possible. It is essential that you use the same email you signed up with to create your Red Cross profile. 

6. How long does the course take?

CPR courses are scheduled to last 8 hours, Basic/Emergency First Aid courses last 8 hours, and Intermediate/Standard First Aid courses last 16 hours. Blended courses include 8 hours of online content and 8 hours in person. 

7. Is the course I want to take full?

To find out if a course is full, email efrtad@msu.mcmaster.ca. Courses are capped according to the number of available instructors. 

8. Who can takea course?

Everyone is welcome to take our first aid and CPR courses! It is not required to be a student at McMaster – friends, family, and members of the community are encouraged to register! 

9. I am required totake a First Aid Course by my employer or faculty. Will a McMaster EFRT course meet those requirements? 

Yes! As an Authorized Provider of the Canadian Red Cross, McMaster EFRT teaches courses approved by the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). 

10. Do I qualify for a recertification course?

To qualify for a recertification course, you must have a valid Red Cross certification. It did not need to be originally provided by the EFRT, but any authorized provider of a Canadian Red Cross course.  If your certification has expired, you are not eligible for a recertification. If you received your certification from another provider (St. Johns, LSS, etc.) you are not eligible for a recertification course offered by the EFRT. You may not change the type of training or level of CPR in a recertification course. 

11. My Red Cross certification recently expired. Can I still take a recertification course? 

According to the Canadian Red Cross guidelines, once your certification has expired, you are required to take the full course over again. Unfortunately, there is no longer a grace period. 

12. Should I take CPR Level C or BLS?

CPR-BLS is intended for healthcare providers and contains much more information than basic CPR-C, such as modified jaw thrust for spinal injuries, assisted respiration, use of a bag-valve mask (BVM), pulse checks and more. It is generally more complicated. We recommend that you take BLS only if required by your workplace, program, organization. For those not required to take BLS and not entering a health care field, we recommend level C as it is less complicated, easier to learn, and more likely to be followed in the event of an emergency. 

13. None of the listed course dates work for me. Do I have any alternatives?

If none of the listed course dates work for you, then please contact the Assistant Director at efrtad@msu.mcmaster.ca to try to find an alternative. Additional or private courses may be available. 

14. A group of my friends, co-workers, classmates, or peers would like to take a course together. Is therean optionfor arranging a private course? 

Please refer to the First Aid Training Courses section for information on private courses.  

15. I can no longer attend the course I registered for.Can I get a refund?

Please see the Cancellation Policy section above for more information. 

16. What about inclement weather?

Courses will proceed as long as the university is open. If conditions render it unsafe for you to access McMaster campus, contact efrtad@msu.mcmaster.ca. 

17. How do I call you?

Email is usually the most expedient option. If your question is very urgent, or you are concerned your email may have slipped through the cracks, you can call (905) 525-9140 x2411