Why does everyone need to be ACLS cert?

[imintrouble]

There has been a push at hospitals in my area for ALL nurses to be ACLS certified. There are repercussions for those who choose not to do the training. Fewer hours, more w/e, and generally not treated as well. I can understand the PEDs floor, ICU, ER, Cath lab..... but just plain old med surg, I don't understand. There is a code team, so it's not like there aren't enough RNs to respond. Is this a trend everywhere?

[Ellekat]

I would welcome everyone having ACLS; I just re-cerified and had to do it on my own time, paid for by me. They will pay for PALS, as we have pediatric on our floor, but don't consider ACLS "necessary" for med/surg. I don't pretend to be totally competent in ACLS within a few months, but feel any knowledge I obtain is helpful. It has been greatly streamlined; you might find that it's not as stressful as it would have been years ago.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

"Why does everyone need to be ACLS cert?"

I guess the wider question would be: why not?

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

Hospitals can pull you anywhere they want to, if you have the right credentials. They can and do every day of the week. I'm sure most nurses here have been pulled to a different floor, sometimes against their better judgement. I KNOW that's what would happen to me because it has already happened to other nurses where I work.

I'm not opposed to more knowledge. Part of what is convenient to hospitals, is that if all nurses are certified ACLS, then all nurses can work anywhere in the hospital. You can "plug in" nurses into any area that has a shortage.

[Crux1024]

They can try to pull you, yes. But you can be SURE, that if they pulled me to ICU (which they never do, b/c its a liability), thats one assignment I would not be accepting.

Maybe talk to your NM to address your concerns before it comes to that point. Otherwise, youre making yourself look bad by refusing FREE training that would enhance your practice and care.

I have to echo what everyone said. Too much knowledge is never a bad thing.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

You will need this information on a daily basis, it enhances you knowledge base.I do not agree with your administrations repercussions. They simply CANNOT alter your hours if you do not comply!

Embrace the opportunity given to you to learn. As agency ,I pay hundreds of dollars to obtain this certification.

[maxthecat]

I guess my criterion for who needs to have ACLS would depend on how frequently the nurses on a particular unit will need to apply the protocols. For example, I work on a unit that has a code maybe once every five years. Now I could certify, but would I be able to apply that knowledge? Hardly! One reason that units like ICU, telemetry, ER have staff who are superb in code situations is that they have to apply the knowledge so darned much! So unless your hospital is willing and able to have monthly mock codes on all shifts for the units that don't have codes frequently, I question whether ACLS cert means much, other than that some administrator who has never seen a code in his life can brag that "all the nurses at my hospital are ACLS certified." I've heard too much about the code team finding a group of nurses not even implementing BLS--why do we think they'll do better with ACLS?

[DebblesRN, ASN, BSN, RN]

The hospital does pay for it, but I have reservations for several reasons. There is always the possibility that I would be pulled to tele, or ICU if I have ACLS behind my name. If I wanted to work in such stressful areas I would already be there. I do not handle stress well. I've been a med/surg nurse long enough that there's very little that can be thrown at me that I can't handle. It's a personal choice...ACLS..that I didn't sign up for and I mildly resent it being pushed. It angers me that the nurse I am, what I contribute, is not good enough without those 4 initials.

Having read the above posts, I may have to stop whining and comply.

Having ACLS certification should not be a reason to send you to a place you are not qualified to work. I've been ACLS certified for 8 years, and I was only floated to places I was comfortable working in or trained to work. They don't usually float a medsurg nurse to ICU.

ACLS is not going to hurt you, it will help. I had less stress in code situations after I was certified because I KNEW what to do when things got bad. I didn't have to rely on anyone else.

Hang in there.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

Thanks to everybody for your input. ACLS is not something I want to do, but it's not a bad thing. The practical reasoning, "why not" made me look at the situation in a different light.

[GilaRRT]

ACLS can be completed in a day, it mostly involves CPR, you really only have to identify shockable versus non-shockable rhythms and you are not really certified by the AHA to do anything more than what your facility will allow. In all honesty, ACLS is at at point where it could be compulsory for every new graduate nurse and most would have little to no difficulty passing.

[GreyGull]

First off, ACLS is not something to get overly excited about. Except for a few and very few meds, the emphasis is still on the basics which you can easily get started like airway and compressions. Taking ACLS just takes the mystery out of what is being done. The members of the Code team may also double for a Rapid Response Team which can stress out everyone as they scramble to free up another qualified person which may leave a unit short depending on the size of the hospital. Just knowing someone can take a team leader approach to get someone at the airway ventilating, someone doing compressions and someone establishing IV access is a big help while the team is arriving. The meds in the code cart should also not be a mystery to any RN. There are not that many of them and gaining familiarity with what is inside the cart is to your advantage no matter what floor or unit you work. You might even walk away from class carrying your new ACLS card thinking "is that all there is to it?"

[Emergency RN]

The hospital does pay for it, but I have reservations for several reasons. There is always the possibility that I would be pulled to tele, or ICU if I have ACLS behind my name. If I wanted to work in such stressful areas I would already be there. I do not handle stress well. I've been a med/surg nurse long enough that there's very little that can be thrown at me that I can't handle. It's a personal choice...ACLS..that I didn't sign up for and I mildly resent it being pushed. It angers me that the nurse I am, what I contribute, is not good enough without those 4 initials. Having read the above posts, I may have to stop whining and comply.

Nearly a hundred years ago, only doctors were allowed to take a patient's temperature as nurses were considered to be too poorly trained to do so accurately. Sort of nostalgic, isn't it? While it may be nice to hide in the past, doing progressively more actually enhances our calling, and it does separate the professional wheat from the pedestrian chaff. Hospitals have tried for years to use glorified nurse extenders instead of hiring more RN's. So, by doing more things that only RN's can do, and be certified at, it protects the profession from being hijacked by other less trained personnel.

Take it from me, ACLS isn't anything to sweat over. You'll just be ready to look at a heart monitor. At any rate, just because you have ACLS doesn't mean that they will pull you to an ICU. Those nurses there constantly work with all sorts of vasoactive drips, balloon pumps, pressure line transducer monitors, external pacers, et cetera. Any nursing supervisor that would throw a med surg nurse into that arena just on the basis of ACLS would probably get fired. You have to be properly trained to work in ICU, and ACLS is only the first step of many requirements. So getting floated to ICU is really a non starter.

Good luck.

[wanderinrn]

I worked a medical stepdown unit, basically med-surg, several years ago. ACLS was optional, but the hospital would pay for it if we decided to do it. I chose to do it. I only stayed on that unit for about 2 years, but I think we had about 4-5 codes during that time, on the days I was working. I assume a few more on days I was off. It was a large hospital and large unit. What made me decide to obtain the certification was the added benefit it would give me in transferring to other units/hospitals as I progressed as a nurse. I am glad I did it, and have kept it up. It is mandatory where I now work, along with PALS which I just recently obtained. I was very stressed about it, as I thought it would be harder and more involved that ACLS. Not so. And again, I feel an accomplishment for having completed it.