Anchor yourself
in knowledge
Offering American Heart Association® (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS) for healthcare providers and Heartsaver® first aid, CPR and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) courses for non-healthcare providers ! Also providing nursing education consultation and services.
Our Mission
Improving the safety and health in all communities and increasing confidence in life threatening situations with a rewarding first aid, CPR and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) learning experience.
American Heart Association®
(AHA) courses offered
These courses are offered through an approved American Heart Association (AHA) Training Center (TC) and approved AHA instructor. They reflect the science and education from the latest AHA guidelines for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC).
For Healthcare Providers: AHA Heartcode
Healthcare providers’ AHA ecard expire 2 years after successful completion.
For Non-healthcare Providers: AHA Heartsaver ®
AHA recommends all courses be taken every 2 years to refresh and practice your skills and to learn the up-to-date science that saves lives. Click on each course to find which one is best for you – or contact Betty for guidance.
Meet the trainer
Betty Nance-Floyd
PhD, RN, CNE
Betty Nance-Floyd has over 35 years of clinical practice, nursing and interprofessional education, research, and management experience. She is a Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) and is Associate Professor Emeritus from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Nursing. She continues working with nursing educators by creating and sharing fun and innovating teaching strategies for complex content. She also enjoys working with undergraduate and graduate nursing students for content review, project and paper support, and study strategies.
Betty is an American Heart Association (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS) instructor. She is devoted to health and safety by providing educational experiences for non-healthcare professional in first aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Basic Life Support (BLS) for health care providers.
As a boater, Betty is particularly interested in improving the safety and health of boating communities. She uses her skills as an educator through the lens of a boater to apply the AHA guidelines. Her goal is for each participant to have a rewarding first aid, CPR and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) learning experience – to increase their confidence in life threatening situations.
Betty and her husband, Jim, have enjoyed boating since 2011 – starting with a 25 ft Catalina sailboat followed by a 34 ft Hunter sailboat. Later, they bought their first motorboat, a 50 ft Carver Endless Journey, in 2017. They moved on her full-time during COVID. In 2021, they moved from Endless Journey to Our Adjustment – a 60 ft. Hatteras and cruised her from Illinois to their home slip in New Bern, North Carolina, where they live now with their goldendoodle, Bailey. Betty is passionate about maintaining a safe and healthy environment for boating communities.
What you can expect
My teaching philosophy is that we learn best when we take an active role in our success. Top Shelf Learning and Consulting’s motto is Anchor yourself in knowledge. To do that, I believe you must have a knowledgeable, yet gentle, teacher. I use positive reinforcement to encourage proper technique and gentle remediation practices such as flash cards, group discussions, and real-life examples to optimize your experience. The teaching/learning setting is relaxed and non-judgmental.
The AHA requires that all AHA instructors facilitate the courses using the AHA video so that all participants receive the same basic information. So, you can expect a few videos within our practice and discussion time.
The CPR/AED training equipment is new AHA approved to including mannequins with visual and auditory feedback device, Meaning, you will be able to hear your rhythm of compressions and see if you have met the appropriate depth !
The equipment is maintained and cleaned or disposed of per CDC guidelines after each training day, for example I use disposable “lungs”, personal mouth pieces that are sanitized after each use for Heartsaver®, and ambu bags for healthcare provider BLS skills check off.