Online ACLS certification?

AgentBeast, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2012

I would immagine you'd have to have an in person skills test and not just take an online test to get recertification. So you'll end up having to go someplace to get that done.

dudette10, MSN, RN · Feb 11, 2012

From what I understand (you will want to verify this), online ACLS courses are NOT approved by the American Heart Association, i.e. it is not an AHA ACLS certification. Megacodes must be done in person to be given an initial AHA ACLS certification card. I found this out when researching the online programs. One 100% online site made it clear that completing their course will not earn you an AHA ACLS certificate.

As for renewal of your AHA ACLS card, I'm not sure if you can do it 100% online or not. The AHA changes ACLS guidelines every once in a while, so the interventions required during megacodes may also change, necessitating an in-person component to renewal.

Have you ever tried getting certification through a private company? Where I live, there are many, many private companies that run AHA ACLS classes.

FlyingScot, RN · Feb 11, 2012

Do a search on this site. There are dozens of posts about this very topic. 100% on-line ACLS classes are invariably NOT accepted in the majority of hospitals. They are expensive scams. You can do a partial on-line class but to be certified you must do the practical part in person with a certified instructor. The on-line class should not be taken by a first-timer. Others may disagree with me but there is no mechanism to have your questions answered, no ability to practice the skills and no support from fellow classmates.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Sep 10, 2012

If your facility requires American Heart Association ACLS (the owners of the course!) then you can do one of these things:

1) take the 2-day live class

2) go online to take the didactic portion only of ACLS, then print out your certificate and get skills checked off within 60 days. I recommend calling the instructor for skills check off first to see how much they will charge or you might end up paying more than a traditional class. I would call local hospitals and talk to educators about the options.

3) some facilities have Healthstream Heartcode ACLS. We do, but it is only for our employees. They do a portion online, then come to a skills lab for CPR check off, airway management and megacode demo/checkoff.

4) American Heart Asso has names and contact information for instructors in your area if you are having trouble reaching someone. If you can locate a Training Center Coordinator (usually asso with a hospital) then that person will have contact information for instructors OUTSIDE the hospital who do this as a part time job.

Regardless, make sure it is AHA or you will get a card, but not the right knowledge.

FlyingScot, RN · Sep 11, 2012

Me thinks somebody got busted!

Christy1019, ASN, RN · Sep 11, 2012

There are a lot of imitations but there IS a legitimate AHA online certification site, Google AHA heart code or heart saver, if u PM me I will look up the link for u. If ur a healthcare provider who is just recerting and comfortable with acls u should be okay. Its about $100 something u do a lot of online training/simulations/and exam online, but you can either do the skills check off in person which is usually just a mega code or to verify you can do CPR. They also say you can you can do it by voice assisted mannikin but i haven't gotten that far yet b/c I'm kind of a procrastinator lol

I do gotta say that this online course is a lot more in depth than my last acls recert I did in person.... All they did was read some very basic keypoints and then did one big group "megacode" in which they showed a v fib rhythm and asked us what it was as a group, soon as someone answered it we got to go home lol, and that cost over $200!!

Christy1019, ASN, RN · Sep 11, 2012

http://www.onlineaha.org/

This is the LEGITIMATE site, a lot of others say they are AHA certified but its BS and the imposters card they give u will not be accepted by most facilities just fyi

onthejourney · Sep 11, 2012

I took the AHA online ACLS certification in March 2011 as a fourth year RN student. The material was challenging since it was my first time working with ECGs strips and heart rhythms and advanced cardiac pharmacology. There were some modules where you had to decide what interventions the pt needed based on their condition, but in-person training would be much more effective where you are drawing up the meds, starting the iv, hooking up the ecg etc, etc.

The in-person test involved doing chest compressions and ventillations on a dummy that would tell you if you were doing it effectively or not. It took me many tries to get it right- you really need to put your weight into compressions. I paid around $300 for the certification, the only good thing I can say about that is that I think having it on my resume and CV helped me to land the new grad internship I have now (even if it is in rehab). I definately would not feel safe pushing IV meds in a code situation with my online training but that is why the ICU and ER nurses show up on my floor during a code- they are the experts and do this regularly. I think the online certification was a good place to start to familiarize myself with the basics and will make furthering my education a little easier when I am ready to try something new. Hope this helps,

onthejourney

Marshall1 · Mar 9, 2013

Thanks for all the replies..am not sure about this one: "Sep 11, '12 by FlyingScot Me thinks somebody got busted! " I didn't get busted doing anything..just been awhile since I took ACLS and knew there were online versions.. anyway..after much research I am going w/the in person 2 day class..I don't live in a place where I can take part of it online and part in person - there just aren't that many instructors here and no private businesses that offer the AHA version so. Thanks again for the feedback/links.

FlyingScot, RN · Mar 9, 2013

That was a response to a post from someone advertising their company that is not AHA certified although they implied that they were. The post was removed. It was not directed at you.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Mar 11, 2013

I did not understand FlyScot's comment either.

Remember, you need to be able to do a return demonstration. In my opinion there are online versions that do not require this and are just selling cards.