taking Acls or Pals class

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shanederosier

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I am thinking of taking an ACLS or PALS and i was wondering if it is a good idea for me since i am only a emt b and i have no experience in the field and having trouble finding a job right now. I just dont want to be over whelmed I have been reading the book and it doesnt seem to hard I just want to be well prepared and not look stupid. Any advice would be much appreciated.
 
Don't waste money on it.
 
Finished ACLS today. It was very easy for me, was going to take PALS but its included in the medic program I am testing for in a couple weeks so decided against it.
 
Read the books, watch the movies on Youtube about megacodes, but don't take the class as an EMT. This way, you know somewhat what the medic is doing on a call, but you still WILL be largely lost due to not having the deeper understanding.
 
It definitely helped me get the flow of running a code down. As an intermediate *most* of the drugs are within my scope besides morphine, adenosine and dopamine, and epi infusions but we didn't even cover them so... If your an intermediate it may help, but like everyone else said it may confuse you as a basic if you don't have any previous basic pharm and ECG experience.
 
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/CPRAn...Part-1-Course-Overview_UCM_307170_Article.jsp

"TARGET AUDIENCES:
Primary Audience:
• Physicians
• Nurses
• Paramedics/EMT-Is
• Residents
• Nurse Practitioners
• Physician Assistants
• Clinical Pharmacists
• Respiratory Therapist"

I have seen people who have no EKG experience score 100% on both parts of the class.

Unless something changed in 2010 guidlines that I am not yet aware of, a basic cannot receive an ACLS/PALS card.

Neither of these classes despite the names are really advanced nor do they teach people how to actually care for patients with various conditions.

What they are designed for is a basic guidline for clinical practice and specific skills for various emergency situations until a true expert can be engaged.

Without understanding the various medical disciplines and information when to deviate from such guidlines in order to effect a more patient specific treatment, simply following them inspite of any other findings or back ground is of no help to a patient at all.

I can sum up both classes in less than 300 words each, and have done so on this forum.

Arrest and peri arrest situations are dynamic, and not conducive to the if:then philosophy of the EMT-B scope of practice.
 
You mean someone that has 4 rounds of epi on board and gets ROSC doesn't needs synchronized cardioversion out of the SVT @180s the epi thats still in their system is causing? :P

Unfortunately the 2010 guidelines don't go into effect until 4/1/2011...so I got the 2005, but from what I was told, there weren't as many changes as many people thought were necessary. I'm glad medic school includes ACLS and will be using the 2010 guidelines.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
For clarification I was referring to the administrative directives about who is eligible to receive a card.
 
shanederosier said:
I am thinking of taking an ACLS or PALS and i was wondering if it is a good idea for me since i am only a emt b and i have no experience in the field and having trouble finding a job right now. I just dont want to be over whelmed I have been reading the book and it doesnt seem to hard I just want to be well prepared and not look stupid. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Here, if you want to start teaching yourself, go to the library and check out a medical surgical nursing textbook.


flip to the chapter on "Cardiology" and read about the ECG and NSR as well as Arrythmias.

Then you can go to this website http://www.skillstat.com/flash/ecgsim531.html

to practice.

There really is no need for ACLS or PALS unless you find some sort of ACLS or PALS for EMT Basics.

None of the skills or knowledge will apply to any of the situations for you, unless you are just trying to see what your medic is basing their decisions on.

It won't be anything you can assist with beyond hey, grab that adenosine out of the drug box for me... or some other such similar task.


Besides if your medic is running a code, don't you think you'll be doing chest compressions and bagging while they set everything up? You won't have time to be looking up at the screen and trying to figure out if it is coarse or fine vfib.
 
8jimi8 said:
Besides if your medic is running a code, don't you think you'll be doing chest compressions and bagging while they set everything up? You won't have time to be looking up at the screen and trying to figure out if it is coarse or fine vfib.
Click to expand...

Well if his compressions are good it will look like Vtach :)
 
You get an 'A' for effort. But it'd without a doubt be a waste of money. Just keep applying and you'll get a call back, be patient my friend. Good luck finding a job!
 
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