Advanced Cardiac Life Support or ACLS is an important part of emergency medical treatment. If you are a healthcare provider, you should consider being ACLS certified. This is to ensure that you have the right knowledge and skills in handling different types of emergency situations. Individuals who need to undergo such certification include nurses, paramedics, doctors, firefighters and EMTs. The good news is that getting ACLS certified is so easy. The following steps will prove to be helpful:
- Prepare all the requirements.
Before you sign up for an ACLS certification course, make sure you already have the prerequisites for the course. Generally, individuals taking ACLS certification course should already possess BLS (Basic Life Support) Skills. An individual’s BLS card must be obtained from an organization that is AHA affiliated. It is also important to note that the BLS card used when signing up for ACLS course must still be valid and not expired. Prior to enrolling for ACLS certification course, an individual should also have medical support skills such as the ability to perform CPR, recognize different types of heart rhythms and knowledge on the use of AED. ACLS students must also have the knowledge regarding common drugs that are used for treating cardiovascular irregularities.
- Find the best provider of ACLS certification course.
If you’re confident that you have all the prerequisites for an ACLS course, the next step would be to look for training centers that offer this program. If you find it hard to go to training centers to be able to complete this course, you can sign up for ACLS certification course online at United Medical Education or in any other affiliated organizations. The advantage of enrolling online is the fact that you are free to choose the time to take the course, according to what works best for your daily schedule. Make sure you enrol or sign up for ACLS certification courses only at affiliated institutions. Otherwise, your ACLS certification may not be deemed valid.
- Complete your ACLS training.
ACLS training can be done in classrooms inside training centers or online, depending on your preference. The training may differ in venue yet both of these are based on the curriculum from the American Heart Association. The curriculum must include different types of diagnostic checks and skills pertaining to airway management, the use of IV’s, recognition of arrhythmia and immediate post-cardiac arrest care. Online courses are often didactic in nature while classes done in training centers may require hands-on demonstrations with the use of mannequins. After the training, students must undergo examinations that they need to pass for them to be given certification. If you’re enrolled online, exams would usually be computer-based. Take advantage of study-tips, modules and other student training materials provided to you upon enrollment to ensure you pass the certification exam.
After passing the exam, you will immediately receive your ACLS free instant digital provider card if you’re enrolled online at United Medical Education. Once you earned the ACLS certification, please be advised that you need to undergo a recertification exam after two years. The initial certification and recertification program are both recognized as continuing education credits and this not only means greater access to more jobs. Getting certified also affords you the opportunity to receive higher pay than your non-ACLS counterparts.