The Advanced Cardiac Life Support certification is a really important innovation in the modern day, equipping healthcare providers and responders with essential skills to save the lives of adults who experience certain cardiac events. Thanks to various interventions, there has been a reduction of over 40% in cardiac arrest-related deaths between 1999 and 2020. Many of the survivors are able to overcome these life-threatening situations due to early intervention by responders.
If you have an interest in taking up an ACLS course and getting certified, you may have a couple of questions that you would like to have answered. We take a closer look at a couple of commonly asked questions related to this certification to help you get a clearer overview of what to expect.
When you want to take an ACLS course, it’s important to note that you can choose between in-person and online training options. There are some key differences between the two options, so make sure you acknowledge the pros and cons of each. To give you a better idea, we’re going to take a closer look at the primary differences between online and in-person courses that you should take into consideration.
Some of the key advantages that an in-person course can offer include:
● You get to see a leader in the room providing live demonstrations of the techniques covered in the course.
● You can also participate and engage with the other learners, as well as the leader. This can give you a hands-on approach and practical experience before you may need to use certain techniques in real-life situations.
● Some certification providers may also be able to help you with an AHA provider card. It’s important to note that in these cases, it is not the American Heart Association providing you with the card, but rather the provider of the course.
While there are benefits to in-person training settings, make sure you also take the advantages that an online course can offer you into account:
● The entire course is based on digital settings, which means there is no need to drive miles toward a local training center. This means you’ll end up saving a lot of time in the process.
● The costs are often much lower with online ACLS courses. This is because the providers do not have to pay for the rental of physical facilities.
● You can generally learn at your own pace. This can be very useful if you have a busy schedule and cannot dedicate an hour or two every day to the course materials. You can, for example, decide to prioritize learning during the weekends.
● It is still possible to get a provider card. This depends on the specific course provider that you choose. Many employers within the United States will recognize and accept this type of provider card.
Whether or not you need to do a skill assessment depends on the setting of the ACLS course you take. One of the most important factors to consider here is whether or not you opt for an online course. In-person courses that are provided at a local facility, such as a clinical setting, will often require a skill assessment. This is a practical examination that requires you to showcase your skills.
Online ACLS certifications will usually not require a skill assessment. This, however, does not mean that these courses do not equip you with the necessary skills to provide advanced cardiac life support.
Most course providers will still include educational materials that provide extensive details on how to perform these protocols and techniques in an emergency situation. You’ll then undergo a written examination as part of the final test. This written examination is conducted on your computer and will test the skills you have learned throughout the course.
In some cases, you may couple this type of course with simulation-based training. Researchers have found it to be quite similar in terms of efficacy when compared to standard in-person training sessions.
After doing your exam and finding that you did not meet the minimum requirements to pass, you may feel disappointed with yourself. It is unfortunate, as you have been spending a lot of time and effort going through the course material and educating yourself.
Fortunately, in most cases, this is not a big problem. Most online ACLS certification providers will give you an opportunity to retake the exam. In fact, there are some providers who will allow you to retake it unlimited times, up to the point where you pass the minimum requirements.
There is no shortage of ACLS certification providers, both in online and in-person settings. It does complicate the process of picking the right provider, but there are a couple of things you can use to help you understand which one is right for you.
Acceptance is a very important factor. You need to make sure the provider you choose can offer you a card that is accepted by your employer or another medical facility you want to work at. Do some research on the provider to also ensure they are in compliance with regulations and guidelines that the American Heart Association develops for these programs.
If you are trying to build your continuing education credit, then consider looking for a course provider that can help you with this. Not all providers can award you with CE credits upon completion of your ACLS certification.
Other than this, keep the following factors in mind too:
● Restrictions: Some course providers may have restrictions on how much time you can take to complete the course. There are also sometimes restrictions placed on how many times you can retake the exam.
● Cost: The cost of ACLS certifications can vary greatly between one provider and another. Keep in mind how much you can pay and compare different offers to help you find a course that fits into your budget. AffordableACLS.com prides itself in being able to offer the least expensive ACLS / PALS / BLS courses online.
● Support: You should also focus on finding course providers that can give you an exceptional level of customer support. This ensures you get answers to your questions whenever you feel confused about something.
● Guarantee: Look for a money-back guarantee as well. If your employer does not recognize the provider card that you get after completing the course, you do not want to end up in a situation where you waste your money.
● Physician authored: The courses from AffordableACLS.com are written by actively practicing Board Certified Emergency Medicine Physicians.
Once you pass the final exam, you will receive a provider card that proves your competence in terms of following the ACLS guidelines. Your course provider will give you access to this card once they have confirmed you have passed the exam.
In many cases, you’ll get a printable provider card through email at this point. You can print this document and show it to your employer or other appropriate authorities. This can be useful if you need to obtain an ACLS certification before you can enter a new position. A large number of these course providers will also send you a physical card.
While basic life support training is helpful, when you work with critically ill patients or as an EMT, you may be required to get a more advanced certification. The ACLS is American Heart Association authorized and offers a more in-depth look at the best protocols to use in cases of cardiac events. The questions we looked at in this post should give you some answers to help you determine how you should proceed with your ACLS certification.
T. Christensen. As cardiac arrest falls, Black and rural communities lag. American Heart Association. Published 4 November 2022. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/11/04/as-cardiac-arrest-deaths-fall-black-and-rural-communities-lag
J.G. Ruiz, M.J. Mintzer, et al. The impact of E-learning in medical education. Academic Medicine. Published March 2006. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16501260/
J.E. Han, A.R. Trammell, et al. Evaluating Simulation-Based ACLS Education on Patient Outcomes: A Randomized, Controlled Pilot Study. Journal of Graduate Medical Education. Published September 2014. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4160059/
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