Advanced Life Support Course
In this blog, I will try to explain my experiences and suggestions from my ALS course.
What is an ALS course?
It is a course that trains you for numerous essential skills in resuscitation, including the delivery of standardized adult CPR, recognition and management of deteriorating patients using a structured ABCDE approach, and working in a team during emergency situations.
This Resuscitation council UK-certified 2-day course is recognized by the European Resuscitation Council and the Australian Resuscitation Council, giving you the freedom to use your lifesaving skills in other countries.
Is it the ACLS?
No, it is not. If you have taken the American Heart Association - ACLS course in your home country before then it won't be endorsed as competency in your role as a junior doctor or as part of training requirements in the UK. However, if you have done the European Resuscitation council or Australian Resuscitation Council course, then it is still recognized as an equivalent.
According to RCUK, they are not able to accept AHA qualifications because they are not able to examine the information or standards for this course. For your information, AHA Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) is also not accepted as an equivalent.
What is e-ALS and which one do you recommend?
e-ALS was launched in 2012 and cover the same course content as ALS. However, it involves one day of e-learning before attending a one-day face-to-face course. This will provide increased flexibility and reduces the need for time away from work. It is also cheaper than ALS.
However, I personally recommend going for the ALS course, as all the online video modules to be completed on the first day of the eALS course will have hands-on and live teaching in ALS. This will increase your confidence on the more important second day of the course and ultimately increases the chances of your passing. However, if the nearest available date for ALS is too far and if you are looking forward to getting it done asap then, you can go for the eALS course as well.
Where do I find the ALS course center and which center did you choose for your training?
One can find the ALS course center from the website
https://www.resus.org.uk/training-courses/adult-life-support/als-2-day-course-advanced-life-support
There is a contact email address for each center. You need to contact them directly or look at their website for more information about the availability of slots.
You can also email the learning and development department or resuscitation officer of your trust for this course.
I did mine from Princess Alexandra Hospital. This is located in Harlow and is a good center to get this course done.
This is the direct link to book the course at Princess Alexandra Hospital:
https://www.wercs.co.uk/book/add/p/2
How much does it cost?
Cost depends upon the center. The one from where I did was £575 for ALS and £325 for eALS.
Prices are indeed expensive but remember this is an important course for your career and for your portfolio as well. If you are a trust grade doctor then please check your trust policy for the study budget as well. Most trusts won’t decline the application of the budget for the ALS course.
Will the trust also cover travel and accommodation apart from course fees?
Again, this depends upon the trust policy. My trust accepted my claim for travel, lodging, food, and the course. However, there is a limit to how much one can spend in a year from the study budget.
What's the course structure?
First of all-around 4-5 weeks before the course date, you will get the course manual posted to your UK address. This is a 200-page 7th edition ALS manual from RCUK. Then the resus team from the course center will send you an email regarding how to access the LMS portal from the RCUK website. Using their instruction, log on to your LMS portal and access the pre-course material. This will include a starter module which consists of:
- Introduction to ALS course
- ALS Algorithm
- Making decisions about CPR
- Non-technical skills in resuscitation
This is followed by Pre-course MCQs which you need to pass as well. It contains 160 MCQs and you need 120 MCQs to pass.
On the first day of course, following will be the structure of programs:
30 mins: Course registration and coffee
10 mins: Introduction to ALS
25 mins: Recognition and prevention of deterioration
20 mins: Cardiac Arrest Simulation (CAS) demo - including team leader skills
40 mins: ALS algorithm
15 mins: Coffee break
1 hour 10 mins: Associated Resuscitation Skills
30 mins: ABCDE approach to assessment
20 mins: Cardiac causes of Cardiac Arrest
50 mins: Rhythm Recognition
30 mins: Lunch break
15 mins: CPR and Defibrillation Demo
35 mins: CPR and Defibrillation CAS
25 mins: Post resuscitation care lecture
15 mins: Coffee break
30 mins: CAS teach 1
30 mins: CAS teach 2
15 mins: Coffee break
30 mins: CAS teach 3
30 mins: Faculty meeting followed by mentor feedback
This day will start at 0815 and lasts till 1730.
On the second day of the course following was the structure:
30 mins: Coffee and mentor groups
90 mins: Tachycardia and Bradycardia workshops
15 mins: Coffee break
30 mins: Poisoning/Pregnancy workshops
30 mins: Asthma/Anaphylaxis workshops
30 mins: Hypovolemia/Electrolytes workshops
15 mins: Coffee break
45 mins: Arterial Blood Gases workshops
30 mins: Lunch break
45 mins: CAS teach 4
45 mins: CAS teach 5
15 mins: Coffee break + Test Brief
2 hours: CAS test and MCQ
This day will start at 0830 and end at 1745 at the earliest.
What kind of assessments do we need to pass?
There will be assessments running during each CAS teaching and workshops. You need to pass every such assessment. If you fail on any particular skills you will be given on-the-spot feedback and a chance to correct it on the follow-up session.
Formal assessment will run at the end of the second day with the MCQ exam and CAS. There are 120 MCQs. Question will be under the scope of whatever was taught on the two days, and the content of the manual. You need at least 90 MCQs to pass this test. If you fail this test, you will get a chance to resit on the next date given by your faculty.
In the CAS test, you are expected to complete all the steps of the ABCDE assessment and as well as lead the cardiac arrest team. There will be two independent examiners who will be part of an arrest team (but will not help you with ideas) and they will assess your performance as well side by side. If you fail CAS, you will be given one more attempt of resitting immediately. If you fail the second attempt, you will get another attempt to resit on the next date given by the faculty.
What are your experiences from the ALS course?
I reached the test center a day before my course date. I booked a hotel nearby the course center. The next day I had breakfast in the hotel and reached the course center. It was a long and tiring day but there was so much to learn in each session. On the second day, during the assessment, I was slightly nervous as the passing requirements were a bit strict. However, the exams went well, and finally was very happy to get it done on the first attempt.
I recommend all of you to do at least a week of good preparation using the course manual. Also please do watch these two videos on YouTube many times:
Don't forget to collect all the bills for cabs, trains, food, and hotel to later claim for your study budget.
Best of luck with your endeavors.
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