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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.

It is a difficult course to pass without some code experience and experience with cardiac drugs/ antiarrhythmics. I would certainly at least wait until graduation, and after the NCLEX- so that you can focus solely on the course. Read the book AND understand the content before going to class!

American Heart Association will let you do the lecture portion online, but you still need to meet with an AHA instructor and push on a manikin to get an AHA card. 100% online certification usually has a slogan like "no skills session needed" or "content developed by AHA certified physicians." These certs are a scam, and almost no hospital would allow a nurse to work with one of those certs.

I agree that experience in codes or critical care is the single biggest factor in passing the course. There is a lot of content.

Make sure any course you take is American Heart Association, or it is a waste of money. 90% of healthcare providers need AHA at work, AND for schools that place students in hospitals that require AHA for their employees...

ACLS is a difficult course unless you have actually been in several codes and have some idea how they are run, and a concept of the drugs being used. That being said, it is certainly not impossible to learn.