BCLS (BART)

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Specializes in Developmental Disabilities; Gerontology.

I'm starting to see this "qualification" a lot under job openings. Is this the same this as Basic Life Support (BLS)?

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

Same thing.

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I see you are from California.

UCSD has come up with formal programs that many hospitals are already teaching to their staff but didn't have the letters established. These programs address what is not taught in BCLS and ACLS that is specific to the hospital situation. In fact, several hospitals teach their own version of "ACLS" and "BCLS" to their Code and Rapid Response teams rather than having their employees sit through an AHA class. The facilities are able to tailor their protocols with the special needs of their patients that might be encountered, the professionals available, the equipment and the pharmacology that is in their formulary. In hospital arrests may be know perfusion and hypotensive events rather than the assumed VF arrests in out of hospital situations.

http://edr.ucsd.edu/Resuscitation_Program.htm

BART

ART - Advanced Resuscitation Training

PhART - Pharmacology Advanced Training

RAT - Respiiratory Advanced Training

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PhART - Pharmacology Advanced Training

They really didn't think that acronym through did they? :lol2:

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PhART. Oh what joy in simple things!

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.
They really didn't think that acronym through did they? :lol2:

that made me lololol

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

It kinda scares me to think that some hospitals are "teaching their own thing". At least AHA has lots of research and evidence behind their guidelines. How would that play in court I wonder, if someone elected not to use the gold standard? What is BART? Never heard of it

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It kinda scares me to think that some hospitals are "teaching their own thing". At least AHA has lots of research and evidence behind their guidelines. How would that play in court I wonder, if someone elected not to use the gold standard? What is BART? Never heard of it

It is not that they are teaching "their own thing" or reinventing ACLS or CPR. These classes are a benefit to ensure their employees know the hospitals protocols and equipment. It also gives them an idea which professionals might be weak in certain areas. The AHA ACLS and CPR classes have really gone down in quality to where you can just occupy space in the classroom and receive a card. This really does not benefit those who work in ICU with critical patients or who are on Rapid Response and Code Teams. How many times have you taken ACLS in a place which has an old donated out of date defibrillator and you only get to "play like" you are changing the settings? How many times has an ACLS or PALS class been taught by a 19 y/o Paramedic who is teaching ACLS until he finds a job with a fire department and has no experience working with patients? Our inhouse classes are taught by experienced ICU/ED RNs and RRTs along with being monitored by the physicians who helped design the ICU, Code and Rapid Response protocols.

Many of the critical care and even floor patients will already have interventions such as airways, tubes of various types, sternotomies, complex ventilation and serious drips in process when they "code" or become extremely unstable. They will not be the typical patient found down such as a Paramedic might see on the street where you start from scratch and all the accessories including the medicated drips are later added in the ED.

Not every RN needs ACLS in the hospital (although not a bad idea either) but it is nice to know everyone is at least on the same page for CPR and knows the equipment we use including the BVMs, trach adapters and stoma masks or tubes which should be at the beside to get the resuscitation initiated before the code team gets there. A regular CPR class will not cover most of this stuff used in the hospital in any detail with a good hands on working practical experience.

Again, these classes are not reinventing CPR or ACLS but just customizing them to fit the patient population as they apply to inhouse situations with complex needs and equipment.

The link I provided earlier from UCSD has a manual for both BART and ART so you can read exactly what it is as it pertains to them. At my hospital we have put together a book of protocols which we cover during a class or several classes over a period of time to stay current.

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They really didn't think that acronym through did they? :lol2:

that made me lololol

Me too :rotfl:

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