ACLS for soon to be GN? Advice please.

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm hoping to get some advice regarding ACLS. I'll be graduating in December and they are offering an ACLS course for us to take in October so that we would have that certification when we graduate. Do you think that it is worth the effort mid-semester to take a weekend to get my ACLS certification or should I just wait until after graduation?

Any advice would be great. Thank you so much!

I think it'd be good. A lot of positions will require it, and I can attest that there is nothing (NOTHING) complicated about ACLS. If you can interpret the requisite rhythms, which aren't difficult, you're fine.

Depending upon your level of understanding/training the course may or may not encompass a lot of information, but it's seems to be a course which people are intended to pass. I like it. Hoenstly, though, the less you know the easier it is if that makes sense.

Specializes in NeuroICU/SICU/MICU.

The advice I was given when I considered taking ACLS the summer before I graduated was that it wouldn't make much sense to me and wouldn't be applicable until after I'd been working for at least a little while. I'm now working on an ICU stepdown/tele floor, and they've got me taking an EKG class and, later in November, ACLS. Plus, as a perk of my job, it's free to take through the hospital. Your future employer might have similar classes available to you. I would wait (I'm glad I did).

Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

I would take it. There are so many applicants for every nursing position that you need to do everything you can to set yourself above the pack. The class will teach you everything you need to know - no experience required.

I wouldn't wait. I think any credentials you have the better you'll be.

In my very recent past I was in a position to hire people (non-medical), and I wanted them to have every ounce of training they could before coming in. I could get more work out of them, and it was cheaper for me.

I wouldn't wait in this job market. I was ACLS certified the whole way through nursing school, and I'm convinced it looked great on my resume and helped me get a lot of interviews in places that new grads didn't usually get interviews -- and that was a couple of years ago. Now, I'd say it's an imperative. If schools are offering it, they must be starting to feel the same way.

Specializes in M/S, ICU, ICP.

i agree wholeheartedly with the last 2 posters. anything that you can do to make yourself more appealing to an employer in this economy gives you a competitive edge. it also shows initiative and is one less thing a new employer would have to finance to make you user friendly. (lol) basically you would be able to orient faster without having to designate time or $$ for acls education and that is a definite plus.

even though they will/would offer it as part of a department requirement, many hospitals are not paying for it around here unless it is a required part of the job description. that is only required in icu, er, and pacu in my hospital. i think with the certification you would also have a wider variety of units that you could apply to work. good luck.

I took ACLS about six months after I graduated... I wish I would've done it sooner... The things that I took from that class are not the drugs, etc but more that I knew what I could do as a new nurse as soon as things started turning bad... I felt so much more prepared after getting the certification. Its two days of intense fast paced material, followed by a test/mock code the second day... we worked ourselves up pretty good before the mock code, but it wasn't bad... everyone passed and I heard ACLS has become a lot easier with their grading... I think you should take it. Just plan on getting a good nights rest in between classes and definitely review everything in the acls book before class. Might be a little harder for you since you haven't had too much telemetry experience. I work on a telemetry floor, so that made that part of the mock code/testing much easier. Good luck!

I took ACLS before I graduated and it helped me get my job. If you don't have any interest in working telemetry, ICU, CCU... then it probably isn't necessary. It is a very intense course and you must know your cardiac rhythms before you go. It isn't something that you can walk in without preparing for. At the end you have to be able to run a megacode successfully.

Specializes in Vascular Access Nurse.

acls was included in our rn training. we had to take a dysrhythmia course first, and then had acls classes in our curriculum and had to pass the megacode to get our card. it was very valuable to be able to apply for jobs and say that i was already acls certified.

Specializes in PACU.

Sure, why not? There are certainly worse ways to spend the day. If you study a little before hand and then pay attention you're pretty much guaranteed to pass. The knowledge and skills you take away from it will likely help you in your career at some point.

Specializes in Pediatrics.

I took it 2 months before I graduated and a week after I passed NCLEX I took PALS as well.

I would like to say that it helped land me a job, but it hasn't I am still out there looking,

however I don't see how having certifications would hurt you in the job.

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