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!
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.
After much thinking and deliberation, I decided to take the basic ECG/Pharmacology course.
Not only will this be a new learning experience, I'll also be able to use what I acquired when I go for the ACLS course.
complete heart block versus sinus bradycardia with pvc's?
i can actually calculate the ecg rate, recognize different types of arrhythmias like a-fib, v-fib, atrial flutter, v-tach, pvc's, psvt, etc. i also know some antiarrhythmic agents like amiodarone, which is used for cardiac dysrhythmias, and lidocaine for v-tach. that's how i define basic ecg stuff.
however, if a narrow complex v-tach, an uncontrolled a-fib, a sinus bradycardia with pvc's are considered part of basic ecg stuff, then i guess me deciding to take the basic ecg/pharmacology course was definitely a smart move.
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!
acls, for the first time, would probably be best in a classroom setting. you will learn much from instructors and other participants. highly recommend you read the book and are familiar with algorithms prior to the class. good luck.
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.
I've never had an "official ECG" class, but have a few books on ECG analysis. There are a few online resources that I have found to be EXCELLENT and have helped me enormously.
I've never had an "official ECG" class, but have a few books on ECG analysis. There are a few online resources that I have found to be EXCELLENT and have helped me enormously.
Thanks for the links MassED! The ECG simulator skillstar learning was really fun. Also read your post concerning taking the ACLS course via AHA. Once I'm done with the ACLS course and it's time to re-certify, I'll definitely try the online course.
I'm really happy that I enrolled in a basic ECG/pharmacology course. Not only will it be a learning experience, but I'll be ready once I start the ACLS course.
I have taken ACLS 12 times over the last 25 years and also have taught it. Relax, everything you need to know will be taught in the class. it's good to go over the ACLS book and take the pretest. The rhythms mainly talk about "too fast, too slow, and blocks." Congrats on having the initiative to take it, many nurses (as well as, physicians are afraid of it)
Specializes in Emergent pre-hospital care as a medic.
In my opinion you need to have quite a bit more than a basic knowledge of ECG recognition to be ACLS certified. I would suggest a 12-lead course for the best education in reading an ECG. If you can't properly discern the difference in various rhythms then you can't know his to treat them. If you gain understanding of the rhythms then treating them is much easier--ACLS is much easier today than when I first took it and the drugs used have decreased drastically but without the understanding you're just memorizing an algorithm.
In my opinion you need to have quite a bit more than a basic knowledge of ECG recognition to be ACLS certified. I would suggest a 12-lead course for the best education in reading an ECG. If you can't properly discern the difference in various rhythms then you can't know his to treat them. If you gain understanding of the rhythms then treating them is much easier--ACLS is much easier today than when I first took it and the drugs used have decreased drastically but without the understanding you're just memorizing an algorithm.
Yup! Currently applied for the basic ECG/pharmacology course.
I have taken ACLS 12 times over the last 25 years and also have taught it. Relax, everything you need to know will be taught in the class. it's good to go over the ACLS book and take the pretest. The rhythms mainly talk about "too fast, too slow, and blocks." Congrats on having the initiative to take it, many nurses (as well as, physicians are afraid of it)
I just took ACLS in may with no previous ECG experience(other than nursing school).
you definitely DO NOT need to spend more money taking a class!
Prior to the ACLS course i read through the entire manual and just looked up any information I was unsure of. reading the information prior to class was a huge help! I took a 2 day course(AHA) so after day 1 I reviewed the material from that day and went briefly went over what was to be covered the next day.
I just took ACLS in may with no previous ECG experience(other than nursing school).
you definitely DO NOT need to spend more money taking a class!
Prior to the ACLS course i read through the entire manual and just looked up any information I was unsure of. reading the information prior to class was a huge help! I took a 2 day course(AHA) so after day 1 I reviewed the material from that day and went briefly went over what was to be covered the next day.
Thanks for the input. I'll be starting the course next week!
a_male_nurse
40 Posts
After much thinking and deliberation, I decided to take the basic ECG/Pharmacology course.
Not only will this be a new learning experience, I'll also be able to use what I acquired when I go for the ACLS course.