ACLS class prep

[Izzy11, NP]

I'm taking ACLS next week and after going through the pretest, I don't know much of the material. I'm wondering what they actually teach in the class if you're supposed to learn it all on your own beforehand. I've been reading the book, but if I have to learn it all on my own, what's the point of spending two days in class?

[brownbook]

The first day of ACLS class the instructors reviews all the material you have been studying and "pre-testing." The second day varies, sometimes a little more review, then you "run" a code blue "mega code" by yourself as if you were the doctor, then you take a written test.

If you walk into an ACLS class the first day with no knowledge of basic EKG rhythms, no knowledge at all of any ACLS drugs it would be too much for you to learn in just the one day and pass the tests the second day.

[green34]

ACLS is a today class?

I would practice on EKG Stat and go through the rhythms. After you get the hang of it, look at the ACLS drugs and figure out when you would use them on what rhythms.

If you have trouble remembering the three A's, think of them as drinking drugs. Atropine ups your heart rate because it has a T as the 2nd letter and you top your beer off. Adenosine decreases your heart rate because you have a D in the 2nd letter and you down your beer. Amiodarone is the one left out.

[libran1984, ASN, RN]

They'll teach u everything u need in class. Don't fret. If you check out quizlet you will see almost the exact same test questions u'll need for the written exam.

Shock shock epi shock

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

We do NOT teach everything in class. That is like saying we teach to the test. You need to study ekg rhythms and algorithims. We teach the technical skills you cannot learn from the book, like airway management, but you need the didactics to understand when and how to do everything else. The AHA mantra is train, review, practice.

[Izzy11, NP]

We do NOT teach everything in class. That is like saying we teach to the test. You need to study ekg rhythms and algorithims. We teach the technical skills you cannot learn from the book, like airway management, but you need the didactics to understand when and how to do everything else. The AHA mantra is train, review, practice.

This is my point. If I had known I had to learn this all on my own, I would've saved some money and taken it on-line. But since I have no experience with any of this stuff (I work in a nursing home/SNF, I've never seen a rhythm strip on the job), I wanted to get classroom instruction on it, but apparently I'm not going to get it.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

They'll teach u everything u need in class. Don't fret. If you check out quizlet you will see almost the exact same test questions u'll need for the written exam.

Shock shock epi shock

Strongly disagree. Basic knowledge is quickly reviewed. You must have the knowledge under your belt to be able to review it.

As to "what's the point of spending 2 days in class," I guess I have to say (in the nicest way possible) that you don't know what you don't know.

Learn your basic rhythms. Learn your basic drugs.

[libran1984, ASN, RN]

Maybe it was my previous ER experience. There were 2 ppl who didn't pass (non-nurses) my initial ACLS class of 14 two years ago. I felt bradycardia, SVT, Vfib, and asystole were easy rhythms to comprehend. Meds were also fairly easy to understand as an LPN. Otherwise, the mega codes were pretty decent. If I faltered I asked for help from my peers.

Never stop and never give up. H's and T's baby!

[RN/Mom]

This is my point. If I had known I had to learn this all on my own, I would've saved some money and taken it on-line. But since I have no experience with any of this stuff (I work in a nursing home/SNF, I've never seen a rhythm strip on the job), I wanted to get classroom instruction on it, but apparently I'm not going to get it.

Can you even take an AHA-approved ACLS course online? When I took ACLS, I had to learn everything on my own, too. Yes, it was a lot of material! Prior to my class I studied the AHA ACLS manual, printed the supplemental material from the AHA website that gave more in-depth explanations for stuff I wasn't familiar with in the AHA manual, took and retook the practice tests until I was scoring 100%, memorized the algorithms and meds/dosages, and completed a self-learning module on reading EKGs.

You will feel like a fool in class if you are not prepared because you will individually need to team lead a mock scenario where you will have to read rhythms and recognize s/s and you will not be able to look at the algorithms. You also won't know which scenario you will get ahead of time. Most of our class time was spent on skills practice/validation, so you have to know the material it's all based on ahead of time. Yes, it's a lot of self-study but there is really no way around it!