Can CPR renewal be done online?!

RhiaRN75, RN · Nov 7, 2009

I guess it depends on the facility and your experience.

I've done mine online before- once when I was a traveler because that's what they wanted. A good portion of staff at that facility had online CPR's.

The second time was when I lived a fair bit of distance from my job, had a very sick husband, worked third, plus kids and everything else. My facility also accepted it, but I did the traditional one at work soon after when everything calmed down a bit.

I also am/was current on ACLS, NRP, PALS, ENPC, and TNCC- so the CPR card was really just more of a requirement then a need for me.

Some things have changed in the past few years w/ regards to CPR techniques- so if you haven't had a class w/ the new requirements, hands on may be better.

WarmBlanket · Nov 9, 2009

OMG seriously, I think I have the basics down and have a general idea how to perform cpr, I just need a valid date that is all:)

Hey BHN ! was going to reply and tell you not to go the online route : most hospitals want the American Heart card. I am glad you found a class and wish you all the best. If you read this before your interview I have a suggestion ; When I was interviewing I brought a manila file folder with my name on the tab . In it I put a copy of my resume and copies of my license and CPR cards. Even though I had applied online the Human Resource Manager often-times did not have my resume to look at . It also makes you appear organized . Good Luck !!!!!!!!!!

Blackheartednurse · Nov 9, 2009

Hey BHN ! was going to reply and tell you not to go the online route : most hospitals want the American Heart card. I am glad you found a class and wish you all the best. If you read this before your interview I have a suggestion ; When I was interviewing I brought a manila file folder with my name on the tab . In it I put a copy of my resume and copies of my license and CPR cards. Even though I had applied online the Human Resource Manager often-times did not have my resume to look at . It also makes you appear organized . Good Luck !!!!!!!!!!

Thank you,thank you for the advice..I might just do the folder thing you suggested,I was actually thinking how can I present all my info to the HR and your idea sounds teriffic..

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Nov 9, 2009

OMG seriously, I think I have the basics down and have a general idea how to perform cpr, I just need a valid date that is all:)

Yep, my Dad was a fireman and had two people dropped off at the station(obviously, not at the same time) who were in cardiac arrest.. Both times, he got a pulse back and both pts lived..they even came back to say thanks. :yeah:

Regarding breaking ribs, sometimes that happens..in the scheme of things, I'd rather have a few broken ribs than be dead. I'd also rather have a big burly dude doing my compressions than some little woman who's afraid of breaking ribs, so her compressions are useless.

Blackheartednurse · Nov 9, 2009

Yeah to the person who claimed that firemen have no idea how to perform CPR..personally I had a wonderful experience with them...money worth really..the teacher was awsome and very understanding (I had a bad flu,my car broke-he offered me a ride since he saw me waiting for my someone to pick me up) and I learned a lot,granted that it was only me and some teenager..I'm really happy with my course and in two years I will go back to the fire station for another recertification (last time I had a horrible experience somewhere elso where the lady didnt give rat's $ about teaching the group,she just wanted to collect dollars)

getoverit, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Nov 9, 2009

Be careful taking from Fire Dept.'s they teach firemen CPR.....which is to break ribs loose and all that does is kill the person. Enjoy your class and good luck.

really? first of all, if you need to do CPR on someone, guess what....they're already dead. so breaking their ribs is not going to "kill" them.

also, most every fire department requires AHA CPR cards for their members so I don't know what you're referring to as "firemen CPR". no one teaches anyone to break ribs, I have personally felt many rib fxs during CPR and more than a few of them have been successfully resuscitated and subsequently discharged from the hospital.

most fire fighters and paramedics do CPR much more often than a majority of nurses and therefore have more experience with it, especially under the most adverse of conditions, so I would think that anyone wanting to learn or improve their CPR skills would want the benefit of having an experienced instructor.

So as a fire fighter/paramedic/RN, I resent your statement and call you out on it.

allnurses Guide · Nov 9, 2009

One year I did the written test online and the skills observation through a privately owned BLS for Healthcare Providers instructor. So my actual in class time was about half as long as others. Probably easier to just do the whole thing at once. Sometimes people get confused in the beginning between Red Cross "CPR" classes and AHA BLS. Has to be AHA.

chare · Nov 9, 2009

be careful taking from fire dept.'s they teach firemen cpr.....which is to break ribs loose and all that does is kill the person. enjoy your class and good luck.

i'm not sure whether you are trying to be funny, or just showing your lack of understanding of what today's firefighters do on the job. i have been involved in ems in four states, and have worked closely with the fire services in all four and find this statement to be untrue and patently offensive.

every fire department that i worked with required bls certification for all of their members. in addition, most required basic first aid training, with many of the members opting to obtain emt certification.

if you truly want to get an understanding, and a new respect for what your local fire department and ems agency do, do a ride along an a friday or saturday (usually busy) night. the first time you do cpr leaning over the patient in the wildly swaying patient compartment of an ambulance doing 60 - 70 mph en route to the emergency department you'll walk away with a different point of view.

chare · Nov 9, 2009

there are a few issues that need to be clarified regarding basic life support (bls) training and certification.

first, there is no official or preferred bls program to satisfy the joint commission (jc) requirement. [color=#333333]joint commission standard pc.02.01.11: resuscitation services are available throughout the hospital lists the following as one of the elements of performance: "an evidenced-based training program(s) is used to train staff to recognize the need for and use of resuscitation equipment and techniques."

[color=#333333]using this standard, each facility is free to determine which program or programs that they will use to satisfy this requirement. some facilities are specific as to which program they will accept (i.e. only american heart association (aha) or american red cross (arc), etc.) while others will accept any program as long as it is compliant with the 2005 aha guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (cpr) and emergency cardiovascular care (ecc). my personal interpretation would be if the job posting only states that bls is required, rather than stating a specific course, then any bls course should be acceptable; however if you are applying to a specific facility someone in nurse recruiting should be able to provide specifics of which program(s) are acceptable.

second, the aha does not "sanction" or "approve" bls courses. they did publish the 2005 guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care from which they then developed their courses. my personal opinion is that this is the reason that many facilities accept aha bls, not that the course is any better or worse than some of the other bls programs that have subsequently been developed, as long as the course is compliant with the 2005 aha guidelines for cpr and ecc.

other agencies were then free to develop their own courses based upon these guidelines, and several have. i am aware of the american red cross (arc), american safety and health institute (ashi):, procpr and american aed/cpr association, and there are probably others that i am not aware of. some of these programs are offered in the traditional classroom setting while others are offered in a blended format. course formats will be discussed shortly.

in addition to the content of the course, attention must also be paid to the format of the course. basic life support training is currently offered in three formats: traditional, blended, and online.

using the traditional format, you go to a training center and spend four to eight hours watching videos, doing skills review and evaluation, and complete the written test. at the end of the day you receive a course completion/certification card. this is probably what most people are familiar with.

the blended format is exactly that, it is a combination of both online and classroom training. in a blended program you will complete the cognitive/didactic portion on line, as well as completing the written test on line. upon completion of the test you print out your course completion form, and take it to an instructor where you then complete the skills review and testing portion. upon completion of the skills review/testing you are issued your course completion/certification card. there is generally no distinction between completion of either a traditional or blended course.

online courses, as the name implies, are offered totally online. these programs consist only of the cognitive/didactic portion, without a skills review/testing. personally, i would not take an online course without skills review/testing as some facilities might not consider this to satisfy j[color=#333333]c standard pc.02.01.11.

the aha offers their bls for health care provider course in both the traditional and blended format. aha elearning bls is offered in two formats: heartcode bls part 1 ($28.50) and bls for healthcare providers part 1 ($17.50). successful completion of either course results in receipt of an aha bls for health care providers course, the difference is in how the online portion is presented. upon completion of part 1, the participant must schedule with an approved aha instructor to complete parts 2 and 3, skills review and evaluation. you can then use the aha ecc course connector to locate an approved training center and schedule a skills review/evaluation. the aha ecc course connector can also be used to locate a traditional program as well, if that is preferred.

the arc also offers their cpr professional rescuer & aed for healthcare providers in both the traditional and blended format.the cpr professional rescuer & aed for healthcare providers ($65.00) course is available. according to the website you have 14 days to complete the online portion. i could not find specific information regarding how long you have to complete the skills review/evaluation. you can then use the arc online training skills map to locate an approved training center and schedule a skills review/evaluation, and there may or may not be an additional fee for the skills evaluation. the arc online training skills map can also be used to locate a traditional program as well, if that is preferred. the aha and arc recently renewed their statement of understanding. in this revised statement of understanding, the "aha and arc agree to recognize the other's student level cpr, aed and first aid training programs as equivalent in content, as shown in the following table of courses." the entire statement of understanding between the aha and the arc is available for download.

the ashi cpr pro for the professional rescuer is currently available as a traditional program, although their online courses states that the page is currently under construction. their quality assurance webpage states: "[color=#333333]all ashi programs are evidence-based. all programs covering emergency cardiovascular care follow the 2005 american heart association guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care[color=#333333]."

procpr offers a blended online/hands-on cpr certification option ($29.95). i was unable to find any information regarding time limits. upon completion of the online portion, you can then contact a procpr skills evaluator for your skills review/evaluation, and there may or may not be an additional fee for the skills evaluation. the following was taken from the procpr statement of accreditation and compliance "procpr is an accredited program that satisfies the requirements for cpr training according to the latest ecc/ilcor and the american heart association guidelines."

the american aed/cpr association's onsite cpr/aed training classes site states they do have a blended course. their website contains the following statement: "our cards are widely accepted since the american aed/cpr association follows the same guidelines (ecc 2005) as mandated by most states for cpr and aed card requirements." although i was unable to find information regarding location of their training centers, the site states they will bring the class to your location.

Blackheartednurse · Nov 9, 2009

I'm not sure whether you are trying to be funny, or just showing your lack of understanding of what today's firefighters do on the job. I have been involved in EMS in four states, and have worked closely with the fire services in all four and find this statement to be untrue and patently offensive.
Every fire department that I worked with required BLS certification for all of their members. In addition, most required basic first aid training, with many of the members opting to obtain EMT certification.
If you truly want to get an understanding, and a new respect for what your local fire department and EMS agency do, do a ride along an a Friday or Saturday (usually busy) night. The first time you do CPR leaning over the patient in the wildly swaying patient compartment of an ambulance doing 60 - 70 mph en route to the emergency department you'll walk away with a different point of view.

I think speed of light must have been drunk when she wrote that..sign of broken ribs is usually a good sign meaning that the person performing cpr is doing it right,deep enough into the heart muscle..please investigate your claim a little bit more before offending/generalizing about firemen!!!

CarePoint · Feb 26, 2015

Be careful with any 100% online CPR certification courses. Many of them are not accepted by reputable institutions. Both Red Cross and American Heart Association offer blended online courses where you complete the coursework online and then perform an in-person Skills Session to complete the certification.

I hope this has been helpful,

Randy