Saturday, March 2, 2013

Emergency Medical Courses: FAQs About BLS, ACLS And PALS Courses



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.