Question regarding ACLS course...

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i am in the process of enrolling for the acls (advanced cardiovascular life support) course.

two questions i have for you individuals who have completed the course:

--> do i have to take an ecg course?

--> did anybody here take the acls course without any ecg knowledge?

i asked the questions above because when i went to the heartsharetraining.com website, it says that ecg knowledge is required before enrolling into an acls course.

any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance fellow nurses!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

A familiarity with common rhythms is definitely required. I don't know if you can acquire that without taking a class.At any rate, the ACLS class does not take the time to teach EKG analysis.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

You need to be able to recognized certain basic arrhythmias in order to follow the algorythms for treating them. In class for ACLS is not the time to learn them, you should study ahead of time.

If you are good at studying on your own, the ACLS book has a pretty good explanation; but taking a basic EKG reading class can do nothing but good for you overall.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

A working knowledge is a good idea as the reason for your actions are EKG based. Helpful but not impossible to complete without prior knowledge.

Electrocardiogram (ECG, EKG) library

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Please make sure your course is American Heart Association certified. Any thing less is useless in the work place.

"ECG knowledge is REQUIRED before enrolling into an ACLS course. "

Uh duh..it is impossible to apply advanced life support if you are not knowledgeable in the rhythms you must treat!

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You need to be able to recognized certain basic arrhythmias in order to follow the algorythms for treating them. In class for ACLS is not the time to learn them, you should study ahead of time.

If you are good at studying on your own, the ACLS book has a pretty good explanation; but taking a basic EKG reading class can do nothing but good for you overall.

I know basic ECG stuff, but when it comes to detail, that's where I need help so I decided to post if anybody took the ACLS with some ECG or even without ECG knowledge.

I'm just worried that I might not be able to hang with the ACLS course since I only know basic stuff.

Your right however when you said that taking an ECG class won't hurt since it will definitely benefit me in the long run.

A working knowledge is a good idea as the reason for your actions are EKG based. Helpful but not impossible to complete without prior knowledge.

Electrocardiogram (ECG, EKG) library

Hey! Thanks for the link. The question now is, should I use the one you posted or go for the basic ECG course? Hmmm...

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Please make sure your course is American Heart Association certified. Any thing less is useless in the work place.

"ECG knowledge is REQUIRED before enrolling into an ACLS course. "

Uh duh..it is impossible to apply advanced life support if you are not knowledgeable in the rhythms you must treat!

Yup! That's the first thing I did was to make sure the places doing the course are American Heart Association certified.

I actually called a few places that offered the ACLS course. Out of the four places that I called, two said that I don't need to have prior ECG knowledge since a lot of new graduates go to them right after nursing school. Take note, these new grades just have some ECG knowledge (Basically, like me).

Taking the ECG course will definitely make the ACLS course easier for me, but that's another $130 on top of the ACLS course, which is $260.

Anyways, it would be nice if someone who took the ACLS course with some ECG knowledge chimed in. In that way, I could see if I should take the ECG course or just might be better off with Esme12's link above if the basic ECG course will teach the same thing.

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A familiarity with common rhythms is definitely required. I don't know if you can acquire that without taking a class.At any rate, the ACLS class does not take the time to teach EKG analysis.

I know basic ECG stuff, I just want to know if I need to go for a basic course to be able to keep up with the ACLS course.

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Specializes in PICU, Sedation/Radiology, PACU.

A basic knowledge will be fine. All you have to be able to do is 1. Recognize the rhythm and 2. Know the treatment for it (CPR, defibrillation, what medications). All of that will be covered in your ACLS book.

When you sign up for ACLS, you'll receive the course book in the mail before the class. You can review the rhythms in the book or on other websites/books and learn the ACLS algorithms for treatment prior to the class. If you're good at self-teaching, you'll be okay just reviewing on your own.

A couple of students in my nursing class took ACLS right after graduation or in their final semester of school. They only had the EKG knowledge they had learned in school- no specific classes. They did fine. All you need to know is in the book, so study the ALCS booklet before the class and use other materials to study more if you feel you aren't getting it.

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Specializes in Med/Oncology, Emergency, Surgery.

You can do it. I took it during my last semester of nursing school once we completed the Cardiac section. You'll be fine.

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A basic knowledge will be fine. All you have to be able to do is 1. Recognize the rhythm and 2. Know the treatment for it (CPR, defibrillation, what medications). All of that will be covered in your ACLS book.

When you sign up for ACLS, you'll receive the course book in the mail before the class. You can review the rhythms in the book or on other websites/books and learn the ACLS algorithms for treatment prior to the class. If you're good at self-teaching, you'll be okay just reviewing on your own.

A couple of students in my nursing class took ACLS right after graduation or in their final semester of school. They only had the EKG knowledge they had learned in school- no specific classes. They did fine. All you need to know is in the book, so study the ALCS booklet before the class and use other materials to study more if you feel you aren't getting it.

You can do it. I took it during my last semester of nursing school once we completed the Cardiac section. You'll be fine.

Thank you so much for the advice Ashley and AZ911Nurse2B!

Many thanks to the ones who posted as well!

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Study EKG bc the ACLS course requires knowledge! They tested us by playing different paces and asking what you would do for them. It is a hard course on its own and going in with studying EKG is not wise.

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