CPR online?

Nurses General Nursing

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I recently saw an add for renewing your CPR certification online, and it being widely accepted at a lot of facilities. What are y'alls thoughts about this?

Wow, that was back in the day. My first "official" cpr course was the last year a strip was required. "Official" because at the time ARC believed that CPR was too complex for anyone under 16. They also required us to know two other resuscitation methods and to demonstrate one of them.

Online CPR courses are just another change brought to us by technology. One day we may actually use evidence based practice in CPR courses.

I don't get the last line???

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
I recently did an online CPR class and did not have to follow it up with an in person demonstration.

I can guarantee that it was not a Red Cross or American Heart Association sanctioned CPR class, then. Most facilities require that it be RC or AHA.

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Specializes in LTC.

I would like to add this. Personally, I believe that hands-on, in-person training is better. However, in my personal situation, I had no other options. My employer offered to reimburse me for my CPR training. Having my certification was a requirement of my hiring. I had very little time. I did tons of research and even had my DON look at the web site that I chose. SHe even went on the site, paid for the course and set everything up for me. Now, at the time, I had just moved to the area and at my last job, I performed CPR on a regular basises. At my current job, however, its only been 2x since May. THe next time my employer offers a training day, I will def go to it.

Now, I also believe that if a person who is not in the medical profession completes the online training (at the site below) they may have the basic knowledge they would need in an emergency. So please check out this site!!

www.cprtoday.com

Thanks!!

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I can guarantee that it was not a Red Cross or American Heart Association sanctioned CPR class, then. Most facilities require that it be RC or AHA.

They aren't, and a course that doesn't require return demonstration of skills is probably part of the reason so many employers require a "AHA accredited" course for healthcare providers. I checked out their website to see how they handled return demonstration of proper technique and couldn't find it anywhere. The emphasis is on getting it done as quickly as possible, and I can understand why that would be attractive to people, but as inconvenient as it is, especially for those of us who work for small companies, I don't think someone can be deemed even minimally competent without going through the actual real life motions of the techniques. And (Lord forgive me), there are some who do pass skills that I kind of hope aren't the only one around when I make an unplanned trip to the floor. . .

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Specializes in MPCU.
I don't get the last line???

Not that you are really interested in an answer, but evidence, even as long ago as when I was a boy scout and 12 years old, showed that the correct order was circulation, airway, breathing. that's a start, I'm not looking for conflict, just a clue that someone understands. I have several more examples. As an aide, consider why Dr. Heimlich refused to have his name associated with various maneuvers.

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Not that you are really interested in an answer, but evidence, even as long ago as when I was a boy scout and 12 years old, showed that the correct order was circulation, airway, breathing. that's a start, I'm not looking for conflict, just a clue that someone understands. I have several more examples. As an aide, consider why Dr. Heimlich refused to have his name associated with various maneuvers.

I really was wondering. The new guidelines for AHA are CAB-circulation, airway, breathing-evidence-based. No conflict just had always thought AHA CPR was evidence-based:confused:

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Specializes in MPCU.
I really was wondering. The new guidelines for AHA are CAB-circulation, airway, breathing-evidence-based. No conflict just had always thought AHA CPR was evidence-based:confused:

So we agree. Evidence from over thirty years ago showed that CAB is correct. What happened in the intervening period? That was an example of how cpr courses fall short of the evidence. Curious about other omissions?

Anyway, the point I intended was that online courses are certainly up to par with in person courses. Realistically, cpr courses benefit laypersons and those who collect a fee for giving those courses.

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Here's a link to the AHA's journal Circulation. You will find many articles for the ongoing research they are affiliated with to provide the best evidence based practices for the present.

http://circ.ahajournals.org/

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Not that you are really interested in an answer, but evidence, even as long ago as when I was a boy scout and 12 years old, showed that the correct order was circulation, airway, breathing. that's a start, I'm not looking for conflict, just a clue that someone understands. I have several more examples. As an aide, consider why Dr. Heimlich refused to have his name associated with various maneuvers.

You bring up an excellent point in that people in CPR classes tend to accept at face value that someone went out there in the field and conducted a de facto comparison of different methods of resuscitating the individual in cardiac/respiratory arrest. I wonder if they factor into these "evidence based" practices how recently the provider certified them, as unless a person has occasion to use CPR at their workplace they tend to forget it over time.

I just checked out of curiosity the history of the Heimlich Maneuver, and I couldn't find anything stating that Heimlich refused to allow his name to be associated with any maneuvers, and more likely the AHA dropped the name because of Heimlich's insistence that the manuever was the most effective way to expel water from the lungs of drowning victims, which flew in the face of clear evidence that abdominal thrusts used on a drowning victim cause them to vomit and aspirate whatever comes up. He has a number of other wonky ideas such as using malaria to treat HIV/AIDS.

Here's a link to the AHA's journal Circulation. You will find many articles for the ongoing research they are affiliated with to provide the best evidence based practices for the present.

http://circ.ahajournals.org/

Excellent site! Thank you! :up:

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Specializes in MPCU.

Well said, and thank you for a sincere, well though-out reply! The value in exchanging ideas here is that we get to check ourselves.

The official reasons for the disuse of the term "Heimlich maneuver" may well be as you stated, I trust your integrity. Those of us who have encountered situations where the maneuver was required, most likely, know that blind sweeps are not a good idea. I learned that as a Boy Scout, when I was 12 years old. At the time it seemed to make sense. Too many years later, I'm pleased to see that the AHA also sees that the idea is not in the best interest of the patient.

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Specializes in ER.

American Heart Association will let you do the lecture portion online, but you still need to meet with an AHA instructor and push on a manikin to get an AHA card. 100% online certification usually has a slogan like "no skills session needed" or "content developed by AHA certified physicians." These certs are a scam, and almost no hospital would allow a nurse to work with one of those certs.

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