Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)

An Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) course is offered by the Department of Anesthesiology of Wake Forest School of Medicine. Our course is designed for physicians, nurse anesthetists, critical care nurses, and other experienced healthcare professionals.

The course is taught by physicians from the Department of Anesthesiology as well as experts from the Department of Life Support Education. 

1. All of the case scenarios required by the American Heart Association are covered in the ACLS course, which is divided into three sections:
   
   • Didactic classes on the first evening focus on rhythm recognition and interventions, pharmacologic therapies, acute stroke and coronary syndromes, and the use of automated defibrillators.
   • Teaching stations on the second morning provide "hands-on" practice in the management of different life support scenarios as well as an airway station. 
   • The second afternoon provides a written evaluation and "megacode" testing for practical application of the skills learned.   
2. In addition, we now incorporate a Basic Life Support (BLS) course within the two-day format so registrants will be eligible for completion of both BLS and ACLS.

Online ACLS Course: Healthcare practitioners now have access to online ACLS courses, approved by the AHA.  BEWARE – many courses advertise “compliance with the AHA ACLS guidelines” and are NOT APPROVED by the AHA.  

If you have completed an AHA approved online course, you may attend the second day of our ACLS course for the “hands-on” skills stations and the “megacode” skills evaluation required for completion of your ACLS requirements.  Please contact Sue Saunders for details.

Upon completion of the course, each participant receives a card denoting successful completion of both BLS and ACLS classes in conjunction with the American Heart Association. Our classes generally offer 9.5 hours of category 1 CME credit for those physicians who complete the entire course with us.  

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ACLS Course 2012
The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, WV
October 27 & 28, 2012
Saturday evening/Sunday

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Updates

New changes have been introduced with the November 2010 ACLS guideline revisions and new information is constantly being added.  Our course is updated with the latest guidelines, a discussion of the evidence behind the new changes and plenty of opportunity to work on your ACLS skills.  We will always strive to provide the most complete ACLS course for advanced professionals in a relaxed, friendly, interactive environment.  Come Join Us!  

ACLS Course Schedule

Each course is individualized and designed for the success of the participants. Instructors will spend time with each individual to ensure that the information provided and techniques practiced will be suitable for the participants. We've had surgeons, anesthesiologists, family and general practitioners, nurse anesthetists, radiologists, ICU nurses, and all specialties of internal medicine represented at our prior courses.

  

Saturday		Sunday
3:30pm-4:00	Registration	7:30am	Registration/Continental Breakfast
4:00pm–6:30	Didactic Lectures Lectures cover Arrhythmias, Pharmacology, Electrical Therapy,  Automated Defibrillators and Case Reviews	8:00pm-12:00	ACLS Teaching Rotations Airway Management, Defibrillation and AEDs; Bradycardia/Asystole/PEA; Tachyarrhythmias; Ventricular Tachycardia/Fibrillation; Basic Life Support (BLS)
		1:00 pm-5:00	Case Study Presentations, Written Exam and Megacode Evaluation

  

Objectives

At the conclusion of this workshop, the learner should be better able to: analyze and practice the algorithms for Advanced Cardiac Life Support; discuss new developments in Emergency Cardiac Care; employ automated defibrillators; integrate the algorithms and new developments into plans for the management of patients in need of ACLS.

The learner will also demonstrate knowledge and skills required for patients who need Basic Life Support (BLS). 

CME Credit

Wake Forest School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing education for physicians

Our Advanced Cardiac Life Support course is approved for CME credit. This approval is updated each year, but all of our recent courses have offered 9.5 hours of category 1 CME credit for physicians. 

Instructors