The Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support or ACLS is a special course that covers the treatment and response rendered to cardiac arrest patients. It includes the basic procedures that may be followed by medical professionals in such a situation.
Which Professionals Require the Certification?
According to American Heart Association (AHA), all medical professionals involved in managing cardiovascular emergencies or work intensive care units, are the ones who receive the certification.
What does the Course Cover?
The course deals with a number of aspects relating to Basic Life Support (BLS), Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, advancement and changes in cardiovascular life support and emergency cardiovascular treatment. Besides these, the other aspects covered in the course are:
- Chest compressions
- Bag mask devices usage
- Respiratory arrest management
- Pre-cardiac and cardiac arrest conditions like symptomatic bradycardia.
- Airway management
- Stroke
- Acute coronary syndromes
- Pharmacology
- Resuscitation team dynamics
The Course Structure
The ACLS courses are led by instructors and include learning techniques like interactive learning, workbooks, group sessions and demonstrations. They focus on learning through case studies and may have special learning stations for the purpose. The course encourages and incorporates hands on learning procedures so that the medical professionals taking the course become experts in using the techniques.
The duration of the course may vary from 10-12 hours for medical workers, who are freshers in the course, and usually 6 hours for medical professionals, who enroll to renew their certification.
The fees for taking the course and study materials used may be different across various centers.
Course Format
The ACLS certification consists of two formats:
- Part 1 Heartcode ACLS
- ACLS for experienced medical professionals
The Heartcode ACLS is taught through online medium and trainees can work as per their convenience. They learn by serving and treating patients through virtual healthcare programs. eSimulation technology is actively used in the course.
The ACLS for experienced medical professionals focuses to train medical professionals on complicated respiratory and cardiovascular issues. The course also provides training related to handling emergency situations. This course, known as ACLS EP course, focuses on enhancing the decision making and analytical abilities of experienced professionals.
The Certification
ACLS certification is given to individuals, who prove to be competent during the course and subsequently clear written exams and assessments relating to CPR, Megacode and bag mask ventilation. The certification received has validity of 2 years. It is essential for medical providers dealing in emergency and acute care services to get this certification. In the USA, most emergency services and hospitals approve the certificate received from American Heart Association.
The certification can be obtained from local hospitals, which provide AHA approved certificates, or through online courses offered by numerous websites. However, when opting for online certifications, it may be ensured that the certificates issued are approved by AHA.
The certification is certainly a good option to enhance knowledge and skill level for providing emergency and intensive care services. This is why most medical providers opt for it.