While most clinicians have good individual resuscitation skills, many do not have the training to guide a team through a medical emergency. Advanced level ALS courses focus just here, on the skill set of leadership, communication and decision making required to carry out a resuscitation from start to finish. This leadership skill can make a big difference in high-acuity situations where the team will be fumbling around or functioning like a well-oiled machine with everyone clear on their roles.
Types of Clinical Scenarios Covered in Advanced Training
In a higher-level ALS course, the learner receives more than a typical cardiac arrest, and is prepared to even cover the most realistic scenarios they may face. Training includes the recognition of deteriorating patient using structured approach and management, and the use of manual defibrillator for cardiac and respiratory arrest. Life-threatening arrhythmias are discussed in detail and post-resuscitation care planning once the patient has been stabilised. Specific conditions, including asthma, anaphylaxis and pregnancy, are also included within the curriculum as these situations require special approaches that are not fully covered by the resuscitation curriculum. Training for these varied scenarios mirrors real emergencies, which do not always occur textbook-perfectly and at times involve multiple complicating factors.
Building the Skills to Lead, Not Just Participate
More advanced ALS courses emphasize the specific skills required for effective leadership and team communication as well as individual clinical skills. Candidates are trained to lead a resuscitation team, to join a resuscitation team if they need to do so and to use a structured communication process, including giving a handover. The practical assessment usually comprises scenarios that simulate the disaster situation and the candidates are required to assume the roles of a team leader and member(s) as they act out the incident scenario under the guidance of the professional assessors who give them feedback along the way. This focus on leadership is representative of the fact that even very capable individual clinicians can be overwhelmed when a resuscitation is uncoordinated and lacks direction.
Benefits of Ongoing Training and Recertification
Having finished als2 courses at this level, a skilled clinician will gain benefits that go beyond confidence. The team members who have been trained in structured leadership and in effective communication during emergencies, tend to react more efficiently when an actual emergency does occur as responsibilities are clear and instructions are communicated effectively under emergency conditions. Current training also ensures that clinicians remain up-to-date with the changing guidelines in resuscitation, which are updated regularly with the appearance of new evidence. For many healthcare professionals in critical care, current ALS certification is also an essential part of their job, meaning they are regularly required to recertify in order to perform their duties. This type of training also can foster team trust, as it can help colleagues feel more comfortable working together in a crisis when they’ve done it repeatedly in a simulated environment. Pursuing this level of training, ultimately, bolsters not only individual capacity, but also effectiveness of the clinical teams that these professionals comprise.
