[Christie RN2006]

Luckily I just took an EKG class, so those shouldn't be bad at all. Any helpful hints on how to remember things such as what meds to give when and how much to give and other things like that? Are there any specific areas of content that I really need to focus on?

I went to the hospital and picked up my ACLS book today, we just get to borrow them, they don't actually let us keep them

[chip193]

Originally Posted by Christie RN2006

Luckily I just took an EKG class, so those shouldn't be bad at all. Any helpful hints on how to remember things such as what meds to give when and how much to give and other things like that? Are there any specific areas of content that I really need to focus on?

I went to the hospital and picked up my ACLS book today, we just get to borrow them, they don't actually let us keep them

Do the exact opposite of what you have just suggested. Learn what the drugs are and what they do - not what drug you use for "x" condition.

For example:

Atropine speeds heart rate in the atria by blocking the vagus nerve.

NOT

The heart rate is slow so I need to give atropine.

It may seem a bit of semantics, but, by learning it this way, you'll never fall into the trap of giving an anti-dysthythmic for 3AVB or atropine for a high level AVB.

Good luck!

Chip

[katienj]

http://www.cprassociate.com/aclspretest.php
Here is a pretest that I found very helpful with ACLS. I have enjoyed the class each time I took it.

[INtoFL_RN]

I just took ACLS a couple of weeks ago, and it wasn't that bad. I second what Chip said above - understand what the drugs do, don't just memorize what drug for what rhythm by rote. The class now really focuses on quality CPR, so if you ever get stumped during your mega code, just tell your team to continue CPR .

What helped me study was practicing giving instructions out loud. I made a pile of 3x5 cards with rhythms on it. Then I'd look at the rhythm and pretend to direct that code based on that rhythm. It really helps you put it all (compressions, airway, shocks, drugs) together.

The ACLS book this year was pretty good, although the pretest on the CD-ROM is way more difficult that the actual test given in class. The final test really focuses on fundamentals rather than tricky questions.

Good luck!

[Christie RN2006]

Thank you all for your advice!! I didn't think that the pretest on the cd was horrible, so hopefully I will be okay on the real test. I was really surprised how many of the answers I knew before I even really studied. Again, thank you!