Online ACLS help

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Feb 19, 2014

I did my first online ACLS renewal this year after doing classroom renewals since 1998. Yes, the online route can be very challenging for many reasons. As nurses who have attended to code blues, we all could react and do the right thing in a true patient situation. I must say I struggled with the last 2 patients myself so don't lose hope. Few things that helped me were:

- make sure you review the feedback after you failed the resuscitation because it gives you the exact actions that you failed to do that the online exam is looking for particularly.

- remember the steps you missed and try not to miss the same ones.

- remember that the scenario tests your ability to act based on each algorhythm. The last 2 patients go from stable to unstable and you get run through various algorhythms in a single case. Know and detect early what algorhythm you are being presented with, that's the key to picking the right action.

- certain scenarios that involve breathing, airway, shocks, chest compressions, and pulse checks have expectations that you must be able to click to pass:

# breathing - you must click that you checked breathing, checked O2 sats, applied oxygen and indicated how much you gave.

# airway - I always picked that I intubated because that seemed easy enough for me. Make sure that you indicated that you are ventilating by clicking on the right icon and are delivering the right amount of oxygen on the oxygen indicator.

#shocks - make sure you click on meds and give sedation before shock. Also, I don't think the online system is particular about the joules as long as you are escalating them and/or doing successive shocks.

#chest compressions - make sure you click on the backboard icon, there is an icon that automatically assigns a team member to do CPR. You should click that when it is required. Make sure you rotate the staff doing CPR after each cycle. Mind the CPR to ventilation ratio especially when patient is not intubated vs intubated.

#make sure pulse check are less than 10 secs.

#make sure epinephrine is given every 3 mins if it's called for.

#make sure you click on "consider hypothermia" with each successful resuscitation.

These helped me pass the annoying last 2 patients. Good luck.

LaurenRay1983 · Feb 24, 2014

I did my first online ACLS renewal this year after doing classroom renewals since 1998. Yes the online route can be very challenging for many reasons. As nurses who have attended to code blues, we all could react and do the right thing in a true patient situation. I must say I struggled with the last 2 patients myself so don't lose hope. Few things that helped me were: - make sure you review the feedback after you failed the resuscitation because it gives you the exact actions that you failed to do that the online exam is looking for particularly. - remember the steps you missed and try not to miss the same ones. - remember that the scenario tests your ability to act based on each algorhythm. The last 2 patients go from stable to unstable and you get run through various algorhythms in a single case. Know and detect early what algorhythm you are being presented with, that's the key to picking the right action. - certain scenarios that involve breathing, airway, shocks, chest compressions, and pulse checks have expectations that you must be able to click to pass: # breathing - you must click that you checked breathing, checked O2 sats, applied oxygen and indicated how much you gave. # airway - I always picked that I intubated because that seemed easy enough for me. Make sure that you indicated that you are ventilating by clicking on the right icon and are delivering the right amount of oxygen on the oxygen indicator. #shocks - make sure you click on meds and give sedation before shock. Also, I don't think the online system is particular about the joules as long as you are escalating them and/or doing successive shocks. #chest compressions - make sure you click on the backboard icon, there is an icon that automatically assigns a team member to do CPR. You should click that when it is required. Make sure you rotate the staff doing CPR after each cycle. Mind the CPR to ventilation ratio especially when patient is not intubated vs intubated. #make sure pulse check are less than 10 secs. #make sure epinephrine is given every 3 mins if it's called for. #make sure you click on "consider hypothermia" with each successful resuscitation. These helped me pass the annoying last 2 patients. Good luck.[/quote'] you have helped more than you know. Thank you!

chrty_knox · Jan 19, 2015

How was the online ACLS? I was tempted to do it online but was unsure on AHA accreditation and acceptance. Please let me know what site or program you went through?

c21 · Feb 8, 2015

Heartcode ACLS is the "lecture portion" of AHA's ACLS course. You will still meet with an instructor afterwards to complete the "megacode" and obtain your AHA card. Purely online (100% online) ACLS is a scam, because AHA does NOT offer certification in this manner, and hospitals won't accept it.

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Feb 13, 2015

How was the online ACLS? I was tempted to do it online but was unsure on AHA accreditation and acceptance. Please let me know what site or program you went through?

I highly recommend doing it in person. I did the online version last year because I was desperate at the last minute. Took me FIVE HOURS to get the online version done, as you have to get through the scenarios and it takes a few tries to get a hang of the computer simulator! Then on top of it you still have to find an ACLS instructor to do the mega code with... it was more of a pain than it was worth!!

Annie