ACLS exam in the UK ? Does it exist?

allnurses Guide · Jul 1, 2011

The resuscitation course of choice in the UK is the ALS, it is run by the resuscitation council and they have a list of provider courses on their site so it's worth looking there to see what centres are around and contact them to see the availability.

http://www.resus.org.uk/pages/alscours.pdf

I think I am right in saying the UK does not run the ACLS as this is more a US based courses and I guess we are teaching providers to practice advanced life support skills in the UK, there are some slight variations to the guidelines but not too different.

The main providers and approving organisations for resuscitation type courses are the Resuscitation council UK and the ALSG

http://www.alsg.org/en/?q=ALSG_courses

I am not sure what resuscitation skills you already have but I always advice the nurses I teach to undertake the ILS first, jumping straight into ALS is sometimes a bit more than they are ready for as unless your a EU or Critical Care nurse there is a great deal to be taken on board and the ILS is a very good foundation for that.

skylark, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2011

I think I was clear in my orignal post that I have already tried local hospitals but they only offer ALS, and in any case they are fully booked with their own medics.

I already have ILSand PILS, ,but I am applying for a new job that requires ACLS.

I can't seem to find the training while i am still in the UK

allnurses Guide · Jul 1, 2011

I think I was clear in my orignal post that I have already tried local hospitals but they only offer ALS, and in any case they are fully booked with their own medics.
I already have ILSand PILS, ,but I am applying for a new job that requires ACLS.
I can't seem to find the training while i am still in the UK

And I thought I was clear also, it is unlikely you will find ACLS in the UK, it's a US based qualification so the UK version (ALS) is what is available here. If you can't find a local hospital then try another centre listed with the Resus council, it may be you'll need to travel but if it's only ACLS you need you are probably out of luck I imagine your going to have to wait until you get to where your going.

It's good you've got ILS it'll help with the Advanced courses a great deal. I have to be honest I'm not familiar with PILS, is that a locally run course I assume it's paeds but haven't heard of it before v

skylark, BSN, RN · Jul 2, 2011

I have been told that ACLS is available in Ireland which is why I posted the question, I havent been able to find it in England, and can't justify traveling back to the US just to take a 2 day course. I already pay a large chunk of my salary to Expedia, and dont want them to have anymore!

And yes, PILS is peds, it run by the Resus org, alongside the adult version.

If anyone can advise as where I can access ACLS training somewhere in the UK I would be very grateful. Thanks!

allnurses Guide · Jul 2, 2011

ACLS is available in the Republic of Ireland (which isn't the UK so not sure if your interested in this one)

There is a list of course dates and centres available easily found using a Google Search.

http://www.irishheart.ie/iopen24/courses-upcoming-acls-t-248.html

skylark, BSN, RN · Jul 2, 2011

Thanks, I have emailed one of the course providers listed to get some details.

There seem to be a lot of courses offered that are called ACLS but not all are recognised by the AHA,

I have also found an online ACLS for $200 but although it has an exam and a certificate, its not a 'true' ACLS, so I'm having a lot of trouble establishing which are the real course and which are not.

allnurses Guide · Jul 2, 2011

Skylark is it worth contacting the AHA and ask if they would look at course content and assessments to see if they will acknowledge the validity of a course run by another countries resuscitation council, the guidelines and teaching is so similar with only some drug variations they may provide you with an agreement that the skills are transferable.

skylark, BSN, RN · Jul 2, 2011

Thanks, but the probem I am finding is that there are a lot of American online courses, all called ACLS, but when you look at the small print, they are NOT accredited by the AHA.

$200 for an online course might seem cheap compared to attending a 2 day workshop for $500, (plus flight, as I'm in the UK at the moment), but if its not recognised then its just money wasted . . . .

The link you send gave me a contact or a company called Code Blue in Dublin, their course is AHA accredited, and its a lot cheaper to fly to Dublin from London than back to Seattle!

Guinness anyone?! :clown:

allnurses Guide · Jul 2, 2011

Oh it's worth doing the course in Ireland just for proper a pint of Guinness