Do you know how to do CPR well?

redraccoon, BSN, RN · Aug 29, 2006

It is EXTREMELY important. In fact I have never worked at a place where certification, and yearly recertification (or every 2 yrs) wasnt required.

Consider CPR one of those things that you just have to know, and know well. You dont ever want to get stuck in a situation where you should be able to do it but dont know how.

editing in... most hospitals and other facilities do provide their employees CPR training.

MrsWampthang, BSN, RN · Aug 29, 2006

I was wondering..I graduated in May of this year..How important is to know CPR? I know some patients might stop breathing and the nurse has to do CPR on the patient right? I never done CPR on a live patient before..Was wondering do you have to know CPR very well in order to work? I know you have to have CPR certification but many of those places that certity people are just micky mouse type of certifications..

I'm not sure what you mean by micky mouse type of certifications, but if you have to have it to work, then you better be sure to keep the certification up to date. Do you have to know it very well to work? I guess that depends on what kind of facility you work in. If the patients are mostly DNRs then the chances that you will have to do it are slim. If you work somewhere where people are unstable, then you might have to do it frequently. After you have done it a few times, it becomes almost second nature. The American Heart Association has made the counting part almost idiot proof now, so it isn't that hard to remember. Unless someone keels over in front of you out in public, odds are you won't have to try and remember everything yourself anyway. The first time you actually have to do CPR on a real person, it might freak you out. I don't think any instructor has ever been able to simulate the sound of ribs cracking, nor the feel of it. I know how to do CPR "well" simply because I have been certified for many, many years, plus I have taught it, as well as I have done CPR on real people more times than I care to remember. I don't know it this answers your question or not, but, just for the record, CPR certification isn't a mickey mouse certification, nor are any of the instructors that teach it. To be an instructor, you have to go through a lengthy class, a written test, and a skills exam. After that they have to teach so many classes a year to keep that instructor status up and when they teach, they are held to certain standards they have to follow or they will lose their ability to teach CPR, so there is hardly any mickey mouse outfit about them. Good luck with your job hunt.

Pam

TazziRN, RN · Aug 29, 2006

Very important. If you are not in critical care then you may not have many chances to utilize the training, but it is a knowledge you need just in case. And CPR certs should not be taught by mickey mouse organizations; every hospital I know of only accepts American Heart certs.

Bala Shark · Aug 29, 2006

Yes, but the places I go for the CPR certificate, everyone who attends the class walks away with an American Heart Association CPR certificate..You dont really need to know it to get the certificate..

catlady, BSN, RN · Aug 29, 2006

I don't know it this answers your question or not, but, just for the record, CPR certification isn't a mickey mouse certification, nor are any of the instructors that teach it. To be an instructor, you have to go through a lengthy class, a written test, and a skills exam. After that they have to teach so many classes a year to keep that instructor status up and when they teach, they are held to certain standards they have to follow or they will lose their ability to teach CPR, so there is hardly any mickey mouse outfit about them.

I can't speak for the OP, but if the so-called CPR class I witnessed this year is any indication, there are indeed "Mickey Mouse" certifications out there. I thought I was going to get my BLS recertified. My then-employer had brought in some credentialing authority I'd never heard of, and the participants were "recertified" in less than 15 minutes. I dropped my alleged certification card in a drawer. I'll do the real BLS when I come up for recert. Hope none of those people are called upon to work on the chest of anyone I care about.

tridil2000, MSN, RN · Aug 29, 2006

I can't speak for the OP, but if the so-called CPR class I witnessed this year is any indication, there are indeed "Mickey Mouse" certifications out there. I thought I was going to get my BLS recertified. My then-employer had brought in some credentialing authority I'd never heard of, and the participants were "recertified" in less than 15 minutes. I dropped my alleged certification card in a drawer. I'll do the real BLS when I come up for recert. Hope none of those people are called upon to work on the chest of anyone I care about.

if you email me the facility was i'll be sure to report it to the aha.

tridal..... an acls instructor

TazziRN, RN · Aug 29, 2006

Yes, but the places I go for the CPR certificate, everyone who attends the class walks away with an American Heart Association CPR certificate..You dont really need to know it to get the certificate..

Then they are not teaching by AHA guidelines.

Bala Shark · Aug 29, 2006

Yea, I dont think ratting out places is good thou..I know a lot of places that are mickey mouse..It is just that they have a lot of people in the class..Maybe it is two instructors with 25 people..The ratio is bad..People get certified regardless..

catlady, BSN, RN · Aug 29, 2006

if you email me the facility was i'll be sure to report it to the aha.
tridal ..... an acls instructor

It didn't claim to be AHA...as I said, it was some certifying authority I never heard of. I didn't know what they were planning until I walked into the "class."

[i used to be an ACLS instructor, but now you have to get someone to recommend you.]

glascow · Aug 29, 2006

I teach CPR, and all my students walk out passing, AND knowing how to perform CPR.

Sudents who don't perform the skills properly will be remediated. I just make them redo the skills through practice and check them off.

If they did not PASS the written test, I will talk to each student individually and have them read the question to me or I read it to them and then I get them to verbally answer. Some people are just poor test takers and need the material presented in different ways. This is how AHA sets up thier program. Therefore, nobody walks out without learning the proper way to perform CPR.

Rather than looking at CPR as a pass/fail test, it should be viewed as a learning experience. Also, no one is "ceritified" in CPR. They get a card saying they have successfully completed a CPR course according to AHA guidelines.

TazziRN, RN · Aug 29, 2006

Also, no one is "ceritified" in CPR. They get a card saying they have successfully completed a CPR course according to AHA guidelines.

On my AHA card: "This card certifies that the above individual has successfully completed the national cognitive and skills evaluations in accordance with the curriculum of the AHA for the BLS for Healthcare Providers Program."

I am certified.