Tackling Critical Care with ACLS Recertification

Critical care nursing is an elite field. It requires extensive education and certifications. As you work to serve patients in critical care settings, your effectiveness will increase through natural learning curves and field experience.

Any form of learning, from critical care courses to learning new job skills from a trusted mentor will mold you into a better healthcare provider.

One essential part of your continuing education is completing your advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) recertification.

The Importance Of ACLS Certification And Recertification

Patients in a critical care unit are more likely to suffer cardiac arrest and experience other life-threatening cardiopulmonary events. Less than 20 percent of hospitalized patients that experience a cardiac arrest survive through to discharge. While the poor health of critical care patients can make it more difficult to rally from a cardiac event, lack of proper training or medical error continue to impact patient outcomes, resulting in over 250,000 deaths in the United States every year.

There are many common mistakes healthcare providers can unintentionally make when performing CPR, including lack of an advanced airway, shallow compressions, slow compressions, incorrect or unnecessary delivery of electrical shocks, or long pauses in CPR before delivering shocks to the patient.

It is also not uncommon for nurses from other departments to be pulled into critical care units in times of need or high occupancy. These nurses may not be accustomed to delivering ACLS on a frequent basis and may not have had much practice since their last ACLS certification.

However, when training is up to date and nurses are confident in their ACLS knowledge, patient outcomes improve. One recent study shows that the survival to hospital discharge rate was significantly higher in hospitals after the staff was retrained in Basic Life Support (BLS) and ACLS.

Personal Benefits Of Current ACLS Certification

Keeping your ACLS certification current by participating in periodic recertification not only benefits your patients it benefits your personal career as well.

Being confident in your skills will enable you to better lead and work with your team. However, when it comes to critical training, remember that the quality of your ACLS recertification can make a life-and-death difference. Be sure to find courses that are accredited, up to date on latest medical best practices, thorough, and engaging to ensure you get the most out of your ACLS recertification.

Get Started With ACLS Certification Institute

ACLS Certification Institute specializes in online courses that give busy healthcare professionals a quality education with the convenience of learning from home at your own pace. Over 10,000 healthcare providers have used our program to sharpen their skills and improve patient outcomes. Our courses don’t require long commutes or blocking out your entire day. Instead, you can access them anytime that works best for you. Our content is continually refreshed to ensure your education is both interesting and in-depth.

We are accredited through the ADA, AMA, and ANCC in joint providership with the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM). Each of our courses is also accredited by CAPCE for all emergency medical professionals.

Get started on your ACLS recertification today!

Sources

• Thompson M. The value of taking an ACLS pretest. NHCPS.com. May 2, 2018. https://nhcps.com/the-value-of-taking-an-acls-pretest/.
• Makary M, Daniel M. Medical error—the third leading cause of death in the US. BMJ. 2016; 353:i2139. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i2139.
• Sodhi, K. Impact of advanced cardiac life support training program on the outcome of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a tertiary care hospital. Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine. Oct 2011. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3271556/

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