Student Certifications ACLS, PALS, TNCC

Specialties Emergency

Published

I graduate in May and am going to a highly completive RN market, and I am hoping to get into an ER eventually. There are no internship programs for the ER in my market, however I would be content starting somewhere else and getting to the ER, hopefully within a year or two! I know there are varying opinions on whether or not ACLS and PALS will help me get a job, but I have decided to do them. What about TNCC?

Also, I am very unfamiliar with these courses. Will I get a book before hand to study, or will I be able to pass them with the given information during the course?

How does the online ACLS work?

Thank you!

Mel

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

I do not ever recommend that students or brand new grads take these on their own and pay for them out of pocket.

1. ACLS and PALS, as advanced courses, build on assessment skills gained from experience.

2. Online ACLS/PALS would not be appropriate for anyone taking the 2-day provider classes for the first time.

3. These are as much about team-building as they are to disseminate information and teach skills; so much better to go through these educational experiences with a cohort of coworkers, even if they are from different units of the hospital.

4. TNCC - if you have set your sights on working in an ER which serves as a trauma center, you should consider that many will not assign new grads/new department staff to the trauma assignment for 6 months - 1 year. My advice is to wait on TNCC and see what trauma education is required in your position.

I fully support the limited hiring of new grad nurses directly into the ER, if there is a comprehensive plan in place to orient them, over at least a 16-week period. If this is your goal, I wish you all the luck in the world. You may want to simply order the books that accompany the ACLS and PALS classes - available from the AHA. Order the most up to date version and read and study as you have time. That would be a worthwhile investment of time and money.

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You will need your BLS too :)

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