If you are in need of renewing your Basic Life Support certification, Advanced Cardiac Life Support certification, or your Pediatric Advanced Life Support certification be extremely cautious of what way you choose you renew. There are currently two options for healthcare providers to renew their cpr skills. Healthcare professionals can take an online class followed by a skills check, take only an online class, or they can participate in a live BLS, ACLS, or PALS class at an accredited cpr training site.
The most deceiving option for CPR renewal of the three above mentioned options is the online renewal class. There are several companies online that offer BLS, ACLS, and PALS classes. These companies claim that they are fast, affordable, and that you will receive a card upon completion of the online renewal course. Some of these online sites go as far as misleading professional healthcare providers by claiming that their curriculum is American Heart Association (AHA) based. AHA based it may be but the healthcare professional will not receive an American Heart Association Provider card at the end of the class. The only way to know for sure whether a company is an American Heart Association Training Site is by contacting the company by phone and asking or by reviewing their list of frequently asked questions. A large percentage of these companies admit in the FAQ section of their website that they do not provide an AHA card. This is crucial to the healthcare professional because in most hospitals and healthcare facilities governed by JACHO (Joint Commission), around 19,000 to be exact, require that all CPR certifications be American Heart Association.
The second renewal option mentioned is part online and part in the class. The American Heart Association does offer an online option for BLS classes, ACLS classes, and PALS classes. There are even companies that by the AHA course and then license them to hospitals. This is more cost effective for the hospitals but only time will tell if removing a large part of the hands on portion of these classes will effect patient outcomes during cardiac and respiratory arrest cases. There is also a difference between the American Heart Association online course and the non-American Heart Association online courses. The AHA online renewal class for BLS, ACLS, and PALS is just the first part. Once the healthcare provider completes this then he or she must locate an American Heart Association Training Site orTrainingCenter, pay more money, and have their skill checked off. This is part two and must be done in order to receive an American Heart Association Provider card.
The third option to renew a BLS, ACLS, or PALS certification is the classroom way. The great thing about the classroom renewal is there is only one thing to do , attend the class. Healthcare providers who enroll in a live BLS class, ACLS class, or PALS class do not need to worry about spending 8 -10 hours in front of a computer or finding an accredited site to check of their skills and pay more money to. The other perk to a live class is being able to ask questions and renew skills with other like healthcare providers. The computer cannot replace an American Heart Association Instructor who can really assist as a mentor to healthcare providers who may be struggling with mega code algorithms, pharmacology, and ecg rhythm interpretation. When CPR St. Louis and CPR Nashville were approached with an offer to incorporate the online AHA classes to their students they turned it down. The online classes would have enabled them to reach several more healthcare providers but online classes go completely against their philosophy of hands on and stress free.
Hopefully this article has been helpful to those in need of renewing their BLS, ACLS, and PALS certifications and has provided incite about things to watch out for. If you are a healthcare provider inNashvilleand have decided the live class option 100% AHA is for you visit acls-bls-nashville.com for a complete listing of classes and schedules. They have helped thousands of healthcare providers renew their CPR skills and have a knack for making it FUN!
