Acls and pals course

ajw49886 · Jun 16, 2014

Never done it online, our hospital offers these certifications taught by our docs and nurses. I don't think I would have learned as much if I hadn't been to a class but that's just me.

CTRN'11 · Jun 18, 2014

A CRNA that I work with always does her recertification online. I'm in the same boat as you... I can't decide if I want to do it online or not and my certification expires at the end of the month.

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · Jun 23, 2014

I don't think ACLS Certification & Recertification Online | ACLS Certification Institute is an AHA course. Reading the website, it seems to skirt the issue. It says it's accredited by the National Board for Emergency Continuing Medical Education. For AHA, it says it teaches the guidelines for AHA but does not say it is an AHA course.

I don't think ACLS is trademarked by AHA. I would contact them and ask if the card you receive is an AHA course.

My hospital only accepts AHA certifications including BLS, ACLS, and PALS. There are other classes that are similar to them but they don't accept them including the Red Cross CPR and PEPP. American Heart Association is the standard and most hospitals require it. PEPP is seen on some EMS rigs but overall AHA classes are standards in my region.

Do shop around for AHA classes at different hospitals, fire departments, paramedic schools, and nursing schools. The cost will vary greatly.

87RN · Jul 5, 2014

I wouldn't do it online at least if its your first time. You learn so much more in a hands on class. In the classes that I've taken, we practice on a dummy/sim man, do multiple scenarios taking turns in the different roles, do the mega code, etc. If you don't have much experience with a code cart/ meds, defibrillator, doing CPR, placing oral/nasal airways, IO's, etc, I think taking a physical ACLS class will benefit you more. There are a lot of online resources that you could study to learn the info and be more prepared but as for the actual certification, I would take the AHA class. I think my hospital also requires AHA certified.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Jul 5, 2014

If it's your first time or two, don't do the online courses. Do it all in-person with an instructor who will let you practice what you need to know before you actually do the practical test. Also, stick with actual AHA courses unless your facility sponsors something different. If you've taken the course and you've had some time actually using the information you learned, then perhaps at renewal time it wouldn't be all that bad to do the blended online/in-person program.

Another thing to note is that if you've never taken these courses before, if there are Paramedics renewing and they're taking the class with you, pay attention to how they do things. I'm not saying they're experts, but they usually have had this stuff pretty much beaten into them so when it comes time to actually do the course it's mostly old-hat for them. They usually also have a system in place so they have everything placed "just so" they know where everything is, what needs to be done next, and they can see the monitors and the patient all at the same time. They know who is doing what and they'll try to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible.

Look at what they do for those little tips and tricks to ensure that everything runs well. While you might not do things "their way" in the future, take the idea that you want to keep things as efficient as possible because wasted energy and motion doesn't contribute to providing care. You can't get this kind of interaction from an online source.

These courses, especially after you've done them a few times, can very much seem to be almost like merit badge courses, but they do help, if only to help keep everyone approaching things in a similar and predictable pattern. After you're done, follow your facility/system protocols and do things "their way" because that's what probably works for your area. The basics of ACLS and PALS are good starting points though!

Happy Learning!

canned_bread · Sep 25, 2014

Really important to have a hands-on course. The one we did required a physical test at teh end to make sure we could handle CPR, and do it properly. We verbalised when to give each drug, what to do next. We were asked questions. We had to interpret the rhythm etc.