Healthcare providers, like paramedics, nurses, and even doctors need specialized training and certification to qualify to do their jobs. You might be aware of some of the training they need, such as medical or nursing school and paramedic training, but you might not realize that these professionals also need supplemental training to cover the areas that their basic training might miss. This additional training is not always required, but it is often recommended to make these professionals more effective at their jobs. Many of these courses are created by the American Heart Association and are conducted by Association-certified instructors at hospitals, clinics, and firehouses. They are also conducted at American Heart Association training sites like Lifesaver Education.
The following are some of the courses and certifications recommended for healthcare professionals.
Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers with CPR (BLS/CPR)
The course covers adult, pediatric, and infant CPR as well as how to use an automatic external defibrillator (AED), how to deal with foreign-body airway obstruction (choking), and other respiratory and cardiac emergencies.
This training is actually required for anyone who works in a healthcare setting, including non-medical staff like receptionists, who might come in contact with patients. The goal of this course is to ensure that if someone has an emergency while at the doctor’s office, everyone in the office has the training to come to your aid.
This course could also be useful for people who work in environments where they might encounter a cardiac or respiratory emergency such as gyms, shopping malls, restaurants, and day care centers.
Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS)
This course covers additional training on how to evaluate and manage the crucial first 10 minutes of a cardiovascular event, including acute coronary syndrome, and acute ischemic stroke.
Although this course is not required, it is recommended for people who work in emergency and critical departments, surgical areas, intensive care and respiratory care units, and physicians, nurses, and paramedics who might respond to a cardiovascular emergency. The goal of this course is to make these healthcare professionals more efficient at responding to cardiovascular emergencies, to ensure better patient outcomes.
There is also a more advanced course, ACLS for Experienced Providers, for healthcare professionals who are already proficient in ACLS, and is only offered to paramedics, physicians, and emergency or critical-care nurses. It is designed to give these professionals advanced training in the diagnosis and treatment of patients in pre-arrest, arrest, and post-arrest.
Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
This course provides more in-depth training on how to respond to pediatric cardiac and respiratory emergencies. Specifically:
· How to recognize infants and children at risk for cardiac or respiratory arrest;
· Prevention of cardiac and respiratory arrest in infants and children; and,
· Resuscitating and stabilizing infants and children in shock or cardiac and respiratory arrest.
Although this course is not required, it is recommended for any healthcare professionals who would come into contact with children, including pediatricians and emergency physicians, respiratory therapists, nurses, and paramedics. This training is also recommended for people who work with children outside of a hospital or clinical setting, such as school nurses.
ECG & Pharmacology
The ECG portion of the training course is designed to give healthcare professionals better tools for recognizing the patterns and rhythms on an Electrocardiogram including, basic and advanced arrhythmias. The pharmacology portion of the course is designed to improve their knowledge of different drug treatments used during a cardiac emergency. The course can be taken as a stand-alone, or in preparation for the ACLS or PALS course.
Although this course is not required, it is recommended for a variety of healthcare providers, including ECG technicians, physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and nurse practitioners.
Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP)
This course covers the cardiac and respiratory arrest in newborns.
Although this course is not required, it is recommended for healthcare professionals involved in the delivery and care of newborns. Participants are also required to complete an online examination prior to attending the course.