PALS and ECG

[nerdynurse22]

Curious who has done PALS/ACLS how much prep work or understanding do you need to comprehend/know prior to the class? Should I pay additional and take the ECG and phramacology part? Does it help to get a better understanding of the courses?

Second question where are your favorite place to go. Looking for a place to work with me and ensure I understand the principals, indications, rationals and more. OR am I overlooking it too much and just take the course and be done with it?? Thank you

Thank you

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Not sure i understand your question. Are you talking about paying for prep classes for pals & acls? If so, you are way overthinking the courses.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

You're aware that PALS and ACLS are two completely different courses.

[CPO1893]

Hey Nerdy. I have taken both classes in the last 6 weeks and they were straight forward classes. I am a nursing student and knew the other students were likely to be RNs and other seasoned providers, so I read through the books and tried to memorize all the information. I was concerned that I would be holding the class back due to my lack of experience. That was not the case at all. Get the books a few days before class starts, read through them, pay particular attention to the plastic coated flowcards and you should do well. Both classes, IMO, are about teamwork, leadership, remaining calm, and using clear communications during an a code type of event.

[kaleidoscope27]

Pay attention to the algorithms, skip the books but understands the algorithms were the most helpful for ACLS and PALS

[sammiesmom]

You only need to study the book from American Heart Association. There are prep quizzes around there and you can use that to gauge your understanding of the material. There is also a pretest you need to take prior to attending the training so you if you pass it, you probably know enough to pass the actual class. I don't think anybody has failed these classes because they will let you remediate after the training sessions if you are failing. If you are in a class that the employer is letting you take for free, they don't want to waste money to pay for you to attend another session. But this is how I've seen it in several hospitals around here not sure of the actual practice anywhere else. You'll do fine! It's not very hard.