ACLS stands for Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support. It’s a certification that registered nurses should get if they want to work in specialty areas in hospitals. There are ACLS certification courses that can be taken to get certified in this skill.
The main aim of ACLS is to allow nurses to administer care to adults that are facing cardiac and pulmonary arrests.
This course not only equips the nurse with the skills to care for such patients, but it also allows them to diagnose such problems as well as other cardiopulmonary emergencies.
The course adds on to the basic life support certification commonly known as CPR. ACLS is not only for nurses but for all health care professionals involved in cardiopulmonary emergencies.
What is the Purpose of ACLS?
The main purpose of this course is to keep health care professionals on the ready. It equips them with the ability to make quick, calculated and accurate decisions when faced with scenarios involving cardiopulmonary diseases.
Some of the decisions that this certification will help you learn are such as; what situation is appropriate to defibrillate, what type of problem is the patient having and what kind of medication is best used to restore the heart to a normal rhythm.
You can get ACLS Certification Courses online. Some of the skills that you learn are; how to respond to a code blue; a situation where a person goes into cardiac arrest and also how to read EKG strips.
You’ll also be familiarized with most of the common medicines used to treat the different types of heart arrhythmia. The ACLS course has a lot of value for most healthcare professionals.
There are many benefits of being ACLS certified. Let's explore.
- Increases your reputation in the work field
If you’re looking to work in specialty areas in hospitals such as the intensive care unit and the emergency department, then you’ll need to be ACLS certified. By taking this course, you get to learn how to work in high pressure, high stakes environments.
You also gain useful skills like how to assist patients in managing certain heart conditions and stroke. You also learn how to identify life-threatening conditions, how to treat them and what medications work best.
With an ACLS certification, you become a useful team member of a resuscitation team in your unit. It also shows your ability to master different skills. Passing the test and getting certified adds a feather in your cap. It builds your character among peers and increases your chances of going up the career ladder.
- Makes you stand out in the work pool
The work pool for registered health care professionals is experiencing a high demand. The data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor predicts up to 14% increase in jobs and adding 4 million jobs by 2026.
Many reasons are contributing to this increase. One of them is the growing demand for registered nurses due to chronic conditions experienced by baby boomers.
With this in mind, there’s going to be a strong need to differentiate and stand out in what is likely to be a crowded market as more people train themselves to be the experts. This is where an ACLS certification can be the differentiating factor.
- Gain more technical knowledge
Learning never ends in school. We still learn in our workplaces and in our daily interactions. As a healthcare professional, you need to always try your best to learn something new as it can help improve your career trajectory.
An ACLS certificate gives you the technical knowledge that allows you to provide better patient care that can help avoid even more health complications. You’ll also learn how to use advanced equipment that can help you diagnose and treat patients efficiently and faster.