[nursing 101]

Originally Posted by poppy07

Could you tell me a little about what you learned in your ACLS class and how it has now helped you? Thanks. I'm currently reviewing EKG stuff on my own, since my hospital is not covering this area of education.

In ACLS you learn what to do exactly in a code situation, you know everybody's roles, who leads the code ect. You know the meds and which meds they give for whatever the patient is going through. That is why you must know the different algorythms and be able to identify them really quick. At my hospital the nurse that is taking care of the patient will usually document while people are doing everything else such as pushing drugs etc.
Hope this helps!

[jessica1983]

Some ICU's require ACLS before hire. I've been hired in a SICU after working two years on tele/stepdown. I'm taking ACLS in december and I assured them I would have it before I started. After reading through the book (it was given to me three weeks before the class) things that I've seen in codes and medical emergencies make so much more sense now. I don't know why all nurses don't have it, since, at least where I'm working now, the nurse is expected to participate, even though she may not have ACLS, and may be like I was, gripping the clipboard with white knuckles, desperately trying to grasp what's going on and write it in the appropriate spaces on the flow sheet, trying to form sentences when the doctors ask questions about what happened and the pt's history while trying not to look wide-eyed and petrified. Not to scare anyone though. While in orientation we did a couple of mock codes, medications and protocols where thrown at us in such a manner that we all partially grasped it. So in short, definitely take ACLS. Or at least try to get a hold of the protocols and understand them.

[julieg]

Poppy,
Your career is young! 25 out of the last 26 years I've spent in critical care. Do you know what? It's rare that I don't learn something new each day! Keep an open mind, and always ask questions. It's the fool that doesn't! julieg