Emergency Medical Courses: FAQs
about BLS, ACLS and PALS courses
You never know when life is going
to take a nasty turn. Accidents, injuries, heart attacks, strokes and a range
of medical emergencies can strike at any time resulting in life threatening
problems. Imagine yourself lying on the side of the road gasping for breath,
desperately trying to live and there is a crowd of people around you trying to
help but they don't know how. BLS or basic life support can be the critical
difference between life and death. We've created this article to help you make
an informed decision on the different certifications that are available for lay
people and for medical professionals
Basic life support classes for
lay people and BLS certification online for medical professionals
For most people, the basic BLS
course covers three very important aspect of life support. The class will teach
civilians how to maintain a patent airway, ensure circulation and ensure
breathing. The combination of these three factors ensures that the patient
takes in enough oxygen to while breathing or helped to breathe. The oxygen is
absorved into blood and circulated through the body by CPR ensuring that vital
tissues and organs remain patent. For most civilians, this BLS course will
cover CPR and other basic non invasive skills that will ensure survival of the
patient till expert medical care is available. BLS is also very useful for non
medical professionals like teachers, security personnel and even daycare
instructors and gym teachers. In case of accidents, this basic life support can
be very useful and critical to maintain life. BLS is usually taught to medical
professionals in the first year of medical school. As a result, it is not
mandatory for them. However, some public and private hospital jobs ask for BLS
certification as a part of their eligibility criteria. In such cases, it is
possible to attend a classroom or an online BLS class to acquire certification.
Advanced cardiac life support
classes for medical professionals
For medical professionals or
paramedical professionals, most jobs require ACLS certification. This advanced
cardiac care course encompasses almost every aspect of critical cardiac care.
Students have to attend a classroom where they are the basics of cardiac care
along with the use of emergency cardiac equipment like defibrillators and
cardio-specific drugs indicated for emergencies. Other skills that are taught
include basic life support procedures like maintaining circulation, opening up
breathing and maintaining it, setting up IVs, taking and reading emergency
electrocardiographs and emergency medication.
The American Heart Association
recommends a classroom course by which the candidate can learn the basics of
the course. However, some educational institutions also offer online ACLS
courses that accept students all through the year. The course is for two days
and after completing the course, the student has to complete a written exam and
a practical exam. Students have to get a minimum score of 84% to pass the
course. Immediately after completing the course, the student is offered a
temporary registration card. The actual certificate is mailed within 2 weeks.
Once the student has completed
the ACLS certification online, it is valid for two years. After that, the
candidate has to sit for an ACLS recertification online for ACLS renewal. The
ACLS online renewal process is quite easy and it is the same as taking the
course online.
Pediatric advanced life support
courses
Pediatric life support is very
essential for doctors and paramedical personnel who work with children. The course
is offered by specialty hospitals. We recommend that you use the AHA website to
find an approved continuing education provider near you. Please note that the
PALS course is offered in classroom mode with a practical component. Students
will have to attend both theory and practical classes and then attempt the
exam. Usually, PALS certification online through distance mode is also offered.
This is better than the classroom version as doctors are usually very busy and
they don't have time to attend long courses. The online courses will have a
skills training session that has to be done at an approved local hospital.
After completing the course, the student will get a temporary PALS certificate
immediately.
Points to note:
1. ACLS certification is only permitted
for medical professionals and paramedical professionals.
2. Before attempting the PALS
course and the ACLS course, the students have to complete a pretest that will
test their basic knowledge. If they have completed the BLS course, the
certificate has to be showed to the instructor to verify experience and basic
medical knowledge.
3. The courses are mandatory for
most hospital positions.
4. BLS certification is optional
for medical professionals and civilians but it is a very useful course.
5. The PALS course is recommended
for doctors and paramedical personnel who work with infants and children.