i always have renewed my cpr at the hospital i work for. been there over 12 yrs. it used to be horrible. you actually had to have a partner and perform cpr on the doll. a strip would print out from the doll rating your compressions.if your breaths were not good enough or if your partner did not give compressions correctly you had to start over unitl you got a passing strip. then of course you traded places and started again. i despised blowing on that damn doll. i mean, they cleaned around the mouth in between but to me that was not good enough. just freakin unsanitary. think about all those people that have blown into the same doll. anyway, it has gotten better due to the fact that actually blowing into the doll is no longer required BUT i think the people over there in staff developement have too much time on their hands. it's like they still try to make the class as long and complicated as possible. the way they do it now-----well, you go and rent a book for 10 bucks(which is refunded when you return the book). at this time you also pick up a pretest and a study guide. each with quite a few questions and you are required to have both of these filled out upon entering the class, or you will be turned away.then you get to hear the little lecture from the instructor. after that you take the written 50 question test. then you move on to each of the 3 dolls for your like hands on testing. at each doll(the baby, child, and adult) you are presented with 2-3 scenarios, then you have to act out what you would do. everyone just dreads this class cause it is such a pia. anyway, i found a new place to go. had to pay 35 bucks(unlike at my hospital where it is free for employees) but it was well worth it. i woulda paid $100 not to have to go through all that crap at my hospital. now everyone is going to this other place. walk in , get a short lecture and ask any questions, take a 20 question quiz where everyone answers together, get your card. simple. so, tell me, how is your cpr renewel class?:)

We have mandatory skill testing every year and yeah, it is as you describe above. Only way to get out of it is pay for your own at RedCross or whatever and present your card to the coats...

I get mine through the Red Cross. The hospital renewal classes are 3x as long as theirs, and it's a lot of BS. I know the guy who teaches it, and he makes it really fun. Cost= $9.00

Kristy

American Heart Association (not organized by an employer and taught at their own facility)--inexpensive, their goal is to make sure you know how to do it (not to find fault or to fail you), and is good for 2 years.

I just renewed mine at a hospital where I work agency, it was exactly as you described your hospitals program. I think that was what was taught by the American Heart Association and they don't deviate from it. At least we only have to do this every 2 years now. I take ACLS the end of the month, oh well.

All:

- I am taking my first CPR class at local hospital.

- We are using "Fundamentals of BLS for Healthcare Providers" by American Heart Association. I went to hospital last week and paid for class ($80) and picked up the text.

- Class is next Sunday, Mar 2nd. Supposed to be an 8 hour class.

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- So any suggestions or pitfalls to watch out for?

- How difficult did you find the class?

Thanks,

John Coxey

([email protected])

I am a CPR instructor. I am certified through the American Heart Association to teach all CPR classes - for the "Family & Friends" as well as for Healthcare Providers - and teach the AED class, too.

At my hospital, we can have a CPR card through either AHA or Red Cross. AHA is good for 2 years, RC for 1 year. You can take the class on your own, which you must pay for yourself. Or you can take the hospital class, which is free. The hospital classes are ALL AHA classes. This means we must follow AHA rules for renewal.

AHA states the written test is a requisite. Then the skills part. The skills is indeed taught as you described: three scenarios, one at each doll (infant, child, adult). Then it is required to perform an AED scenario. (Automatic Extenal Defibrillator)

If you fail any part of the test, written or skill, you must re-do until you pass. You are allowed to take the written part three times and if you fail after the 3rd time, you must take the entire 8 hour class that is held for new learners, not the refresher class.

As an instructor, I try to make the class fun. If you fail the written part, I (and all the other instructors do this, too) give the participant a copy of the answers with the rationale. Then I give them time to review and discuss with me why the answer is the correct one. Then I give you the written part again. (There are two different written tests. If you took and failed Test A, I give you Test B the next time.)

On the mannequins, I do remedial with you immediately if you fail, and we will keep at it until you demo correctly.

I have even renewed nurses as a one-on-one instructor as a favor to those who do not do well in a classroom full of people.

I can't understand WHY any instructor would not renew CPR cards any other way than this. YOU NEED TO PERFORM THE SKILL. You can't just verbalize it or write it and then be able to get your card. It isn't the same. I have failed to give a card to a student who passed all written parts brilliantly, could state rationale all day long. But when it came to performing the skill she couldn't locate the sternum, she couldn't inflate the chest, she lost her count, etc. Then she got mad at me for failing her. I said, "Better you fail the class than fail on a HUMAN who is my loved one!"

And I don't understand WHY ANY nurse would feel this class was a waste of time or a farce. It is a very important skill to have and could save your patient's life. Having "head knowledge" is NOT the same as PERFORMING the skill. Remember when you were learning how to do IV's??? You "knew" the skill, but actually DOING it took a lot of practice.

I do not charge any nurse or healthcare provider money to have me renew their cards, but I do ask that they prove their proficiency adequately to me.

Oh, and as for the "unsanitary" part....don't you use masks? The larger plastic masks made by Laerdal have a one-way valve so when you blow through them you cannot be "contaminated". You can purchase your own mask and use it at the class. Then keep the mask for yourself and have it in your nurse bag for future needs. They cost about $8 or so.

At my classes, I distribute plastic throw-away shields to each student. They are given to everyone at the class for free and they throw them out after the class. These sheilds also have a one-way valve at the mouth part. I usually give each "graduate" a fresh throw-away shield at the end of the class as their "graduation gift"!!!