- Understanding the FA Exam Content Structure
- Core Content Areas of the r.25 Curriculum
- The Hands-On Skills Assessment
- Specialized Care Topics You Must Know
- Training Formats and What Each One Certifies
- Who Actually Needs This Certification
- Mapping a Study Plan to the Content Areas
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The r.25 curriculum covers first aid, breathing emergencies, and cardiac emergencies across adults, children, and infants.
- The hands-on assessment tests bleeding control, choking response, CPR, AED use, and safe glove removal.
- Only blended and in-person training issue a two-year OSHA-compliant digital certificate; online-only yields a certificate of completion.
- Content is aligned to the 2025 ILCOR consensus and 2025 AHA/Red Cross guidelines, including naloxone and epinephrine auto-injector use.
Understanding the FA Exam Content Structure
When people search for "FA exam domains," they're usually picturing a multiple-choice test broken into numbered percentage weights, the way many professional certifications are structured. The Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED certification works differently. Rather than a single proctored exam divided into scored domains, the American Red Cross r.25 course organizes its content around real-world emergency scenarios - first aid situations, breathing emergencies, and cardiac emergencies - applied across three age groups: adults, children, and infants. Understanding this structure matters more than memorizing a domain-weight chart, because the actual test of competency is scenario-based knowledge checks paired with a physical skills demonstration.
If you're comparing this credential to other things that share the "FA" abbreviation, stop - this guide is strictly about the Red Cross Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED course. For a plain-language explanation of the credential itself, see What Is FA?, and for how the content maps to a study calendar, check FA Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.
Core Content Areas of the r.25 Curriculum
The r.25 course content splits cleanly into a few recurring content areas that show up repeatedly in both the written knowledge checks and the hands-on skills session. Every candidate should be able to explain, without hesitation, how care differs for an adult versus a child versus an infant in each category below.
First Aid for Injuries and Sudden Illness
Covers recognizing and responding to injuries and medical emergencies before EMS arrives.
- Controlling external bleeding, including when and how to apply direct pressure or a tourniquet
- Splinting techniques for suspected fractures or sprains
- Recognizing signs of shock, poisoning, and other sudden-illness presentations
Breathing Emergencies
Focuses on airway obstruction and respiratory distress across age groups.
- Choking response for adults, children, and infants - the technique changes by age
- Assisting with asthma inhaler use during a respiratory episode
- Recognizing when a breathing emergency requires escalation to advanced care
Cardiac Emergencies
Centers on recognizing cardiac arrest and delivering CPR and AED care correctly.
- CPR compression depth, rate, and hand placement differences for adults, children, and infants
- AED setup, pad placement, and safety checks before delivering a shock
- Coordinating CPR and AED use with a second responder when available
Because the course intentionally repeats these three categories across three age groups, a large share of your review time should go toward drilling the differences between adult, child, and infant technique rather than learning brand-new content nine separate times. For a deeper look at how difficult candidates actually find this repetition, see How Hard Is the FA Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
The Hands-On Skills Assessment
Written knowledge checks are only part of the picture. The current hands-on assessment for this course tests five specific skills, and instructor observation of these skills is what separates a full OSHA-compliant certificate from a basic certificate of completion.
- Controlling bleeding - demonstrating direct pressure, wound dressing, and appropriate tourniquet application
- Choking response - performing the correct sequence of back blows/abdominal thrusts adjusted for the victim's age
- CPR - compressions and rescue breaths performed to the current compression depth and rate standards
- AED use - powering on the device, placing pads correctly, and following prompts safely
- Safe removal of gloves - a small but frequently overlooked skill that prevents cross-contamination after providing care
Key Takeaway
Practice glove removal as deliberately as CPR compressions - instructors evaluate it as a distinct skill, and skipping the correct removal sequence is an easy, avoidable point of failure during the observed assessment.
Because this is instructor-observed rather than purely written, generic exam-taking tricks won't help much here. What matters is muscle memory built through repetition. If you want a sense of exactly what "passing" looks like for both the knowledge and skills components, FA Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass breaks down the expectations in more detail.
Specialized Care Topics You Must Know
Beyond the three core emergency categories, the r.25 curriculum includes several specialized topics that reflect current real-world emergency response needs. These are frequently the areas candidates underestimate because they don't feel like "core" CPR or first aid content - but they show up in scenario questions and can appear in skills discussion.
| Specialized Topic | What You Need to Know |
|---|---|
| Asthma inhalers | When and how to assist someone using their own prescribed inhaler during respiratory distress |
| Epinephrine auto-injectors | Recognizing anaphylaxis and assisting with an auto-injector correctly and safely |
| Tourniquets | Proper placement and timing for life-threatening bleeding that direct pressure can't control |
| Splinting | Immobilizing suspected fractures without worsening the injury |
| Naloxone | Recognizing signs of opioid overdose and understanding the role of naloxone administration |
These topics exist because the course content is aligned with the 2025 ILCOR consensus and the 2025 American Heart Association and American Red Cross CPR and First Aid guidelines. That alignment means the curriculum reflects current, evidence-based emergency response practice rather than outdated protocols - a distinction worth understanding if you're deciding between this and other certifications. For background on the terminology itself, see FA Meaning and What Does FA Stand For?.
Training Formats and What Each One Certifies
Not all completions of this course result in the same credential, and this is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the content structure. The course is available online, blended, and in person, but the certificate you receive depends entirely on the format.
| Format | Skill Demonstration | Certificate Issued |
|---|---|---|
| Online-only | No live skill demonstration | Certificate of completion - may not satisfy workplace requirements |
| Blended | Instructor-observed in person | Two-year OSHA-compliant digital certification |
| In person | Instructor-observed in person | Two-year OSHA-compliant digital certification |
If your employer requires OSHA-compliant documentation, the online-only path is not a substitute for blended or in-person training - this is a critical detail many candidates miss when they're focused only on the content areas rather than the format that unlocks certification. Digital certificates issued after successful completion include a unique ID and QR code, allowing employers to verify credentials directly rather than taking a printed certificate at face value. For a full cost comparison across formats, see FA Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown, and for eligibility details before you register, review FA Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Who Actually Needs This Certification
The content areas above aren't academic - they map directly to workplace and regulatory demands. This certification is designed to satisfy OSHA workplace requirements and other regulatory obligations, which is why it's commonly required (or strongly preferred) for roles involving direct responsibility for others' physical safety: childcare providers, camp and recreation staff, coaches, fitness instructors, workplace safety officers, and similar positions where a documented, verifiable emergency response credential matters to an employer or licensing body.
Because the certificate includes a QR code and unique ID for verification, employers in these fields can confirm a candidate's credential is current and legitimate without extra paperwork. If you're evaluating whether this certification is worth pursuing for your career path, Is the FA Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 covers that decision in depth, and FA Jobs outlines the types of roles that typically list it as a requirement or preference.
Key Takeaway
If your job requires OSHA-compliant proof of certification, confirm you're enrolling in the blended or in-person format - the online-only certificate of completion will not satisfy that requirement.
Mapping a Study Plan to the Content Areas
Given the way the r.25 content repeats across age groups, an effective prep schedule spends less time on broad review and more time drilling the specific technique differences between adult, child, and infant care. A short, focused plan works better than an unstructured one.
First Aid Fundamentals
- Review bleeding control, tourniquet use, and splinting for adults
- Note where technique changes for children and infants
Breathing Emergencies
- Practice choking response sequences for each age group
- Review asthma inhaler assistance steps
Cardiac Emergencies
- Drill CPR compression rate and depth for adults, children, and infants
- Practice AED setup and pad placement until it's automatic
Specialized Topics and Skills Review
- Review epinephrine auto-injector and naloxone response content
- Run a full skills rehearsal: bleeding control, choking, CPR, AED, glove removal
Notice that the final week groups the five hands-on skills together for a full rehearsal - that mirrors how the actual instructor-observed assessment flows, rather than testing each skill in isolation. For additional structured practice questions organized by these same content areas, you can work through the FA Exam Prep practice test platform to reinforce recall before your scheduled session. A second pass through timed practice questions on the main practice site a few days before your course date is often more useful than another round of passive reading.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not in the traditional weighted-percentage sense. The r.25 content is organized around emergency types - first aid, breathing emergencies, and cardiac emergencies - applied across adults, children, and infants, plus specialized topics like naloxone and epinephrine auto-injectors.
The current hands-on assessment covers controlling bleeding, choking response, CPR, AED use, and safe removal of gloves. These are evaluated through instructor observation rather than written questions alone.
Not necessarily. Online-only training has no live skill demonstration and results in a certificate of completion, which may not satisfy workplace requirements. Blended and in-person formats include instructor-observed skills and issue a two-year OSHA-compliant digital certification.
The r.25 curriculum aligns its care steps with the 2025 ILCOR consensus and the 2025 American Heart Association and American Red Cross CPR and First Aid guidelines, so the content reflects current evidence-based protocols.
Digital certificates issued through the blended or in-person route include a unique ID and QR code, which employers can use to verify the credential directly rather than relying on a printed copy alone.