The 6 Insightful Things You Need to Know When Recertifying for ACLS
If you are ACLS certified, then you need to make sure that you remember to renew your certification. If you allow your certification to pass its expiration date without renewal, you can end up having to wait to recertify before you can continue with work. Here we discuss about the 6 insightful things you need to know when recertifying for ACLS .
Thankfully, the ACLS recertification process is extremely efficient. It is made more efficient by the ability to recertify online, instead of having to attend an exam center. This article will further explore this subject, as well as bring you a few insightful things that you need to know about when recertifying for ACLS:
What Is ACLS?
By virtue of reading this article, the probability of you knowing what ACLS stands for is very high, but if you are reading for purely academic purposes and have no connection to the healthcare industry, then ACLS stands for Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support. It is a certification that allows healthcare specialists to interpret a patient’s heart rhythm using an electrocardiogram, place advanced airways, insert IV or IO lines, and offer treatment for the heart rhythms that they will encounter. If one is not ACLS certified, then one cannot perform any of these tasks. In a hospital setting, it’s very important that doctors have their ACLS certification. The ACLS certification lasts for two years. At the end of that two-year period, it needs to be renewed.
What Is Recertification?
Recertification is the process by which one reacquires their ACLS certificate after it expires. You need to renew ACLS after it expires, otherwise, you cannot continue practicing. The American Heart Association requires you to update and recertify so that they can be confident those who provide care know what they are doing. Most experts agree that the best thing to do is to take renewal courses so that you can hone your skills. This is especially important if it has been a while since you had to implement any of the care measures you are certified to practice.
Why Is Recertification Necessary?
As already mentioned several times, recertification exists as a process so that the American Heart Association can be confident that those providing patients with care know exactly what they are doing. It also exists so that doctors who are qualified and know what they are doing can learn the latest treatments. Treatment changes from time to time, so it is important that doctors are kept up to date with this. If new treatments are introduced during a doctor’s ACLS period, and before it expires, they may be called up to take a class in it. Failing that, they will be given instruction when they reapply for their ACLS certificate.
Notification Letters
The main question people ask is, “how will I know when my ACLS has expired?” The American Heart Association has got you covered. Approximately two months prior to your certification’s expiration, the AHA will write to you notifying you that you need to recertify. This gives you more than enough time to recertify. If you do not recertify then it will limit patients’ access to life-saving treatment and medication. In the letter from the AHA, you will find all of the important information that you need to complete your recertification, including where you can do it, how, and any advice or guidance, which may include a recommendation to take a refreshers course.
What If It Has Already Expired?
If you have just discovered that your ACLS has expired, don’t panic. You mustn’t provide any treatment to patients until you have recertified, however. You should notify your employer that you are not ACLS certified. Until you recertify, your employer may allow you to continue giving care, provided that you take some kind of course related to cardiac arrest. These sorts of courses may only provide temporary qualifications, while you wait for your ACLS to be renewed. You mustn’t knowingly mislead your employers, making them think that you are certified when you are not. If you have any concerns about taking the ACLS or are worried that you might fail it, you should take a course.
The 6 Insightful Things You Need to Know When Recertifying for ACLS
ACLS Workshops
As mentioned already, it might be worth taking some kind of course or workshop in ACLS certification. This is very important if it has been a long time since you gave active care to patients, but intend on doing so in the future. ACLS workshops are a very effective way of improving one’s knowledge so that one can approach one’s ACLS certification more confidently.
If you work in a hospital, then you are likely ACLS certified. But is your ACLS certification up to date? If you have moved addresses recently and have not updated the AHA, your certification may be out of date, but they may not have been able to contact you to notify you of this. Thankfully, you can contact them directly, and they can tell you.
