BLS certification course and training

The BLS certification course and training commences with a brief introduction of what basic life support entails. It also provides insight on the legal protections in place for each state in regards to rescuers who provide medical assistance to unknown parties.

Per the Good Samaritan Law, for example, health experts who administer medical techniques, such as CPR or AED to save lives are usually protected against negative legal proceedings when no compensation is expected. This is a clear example of the value of studying a standard BLS course, even if you’re not required to. The course provides profound instruction for medical workers that often use BLS on the field in the real world.

What’s included?

The BLS course goes into great detail about common BLS processes. There are a total of 13 modules, including:

1. CPR – Learn how to perform CPR on infants, children, and adults. Determine the best course of action to take based on underlying circumstances and if and when CPR should be ceased at any given time. The BLS course further discusses the benefits of combining CPR with AED when properly trained rescuers are present and the right equipment is available.
2. CPR modules – address how team resuscitation differs from single-player CPR scenarios. You will also learn about carrying out chest compressions on different demographics, including pregnant women and obese patients. Students will also learn how to clear the airway, improve circulation, and complete mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing if needed.
3. AED – Next up on the list of BLS training materials is how and when to use an Automated External Defibrillator or AED. In most cases, this is used after CPR is completed. Students also get a chance to study specific conditions that respond more favorably to AED use, including Ventricular Tachycardia, where a rapid heartbeat is observed. Ventricular Fibrillation is another condition that health care students will learn about during the standard BLS course and training. The AED module furthermore covers additional steps to take for using an automated external defibrillator in special circumstances, such as in cases of trauma, drowning, or electrocution. In cases of Ventricular Fibrillation, it’s essential to get medical intervention as no treatment will result in the loss of blood circulation, and ultimately, the loss of oxygen.
4. First Aid Training – It is human nature to make mistakes. When injuries happen as a result of human error or other extenuating circumstances, like a car crash or natural disaster, the BLS course teaches rescuers how to be prepared to help injured parties. The first aid module outlines the best way to stock first aid kits and how to treat common injuries, including nosebleeds, cuts, burns, and fractures, for example.
5. Wound Care – Learn how to make a wound diagnosis on-the-spot and the best practices for dressing different wound types. This module covers basic care treatments for open chest wounds, punctured wounds, amputations, and cuts and scrapes. The wound care unit also emphasizes the importance of keeping wounds clean to reduce the risk of infection.
6. The Heart – To better understand the value of basic life support, one has to study how the human heart works. The National CPR Foundation’s well-rounded BLS course and training that teaches students the basic structure of the heart and treatments for specific conditions like a cardiac arrest, heart attack, chest pain, or respiratory arrest.
7. Fractures – Fractures can range in severity and proper measures should be taken to improve the patient’s chances of recovery and survival. As a health care worker, you will get to read about indicated protocols for fractures, sprains and strains, bruises, and even dental avulsions.
8. Burns – Recognize the main classifications of burn injuries (i.e. first, second, and third-degree burns). Then, study how to best treat each type of burn in the interim of rushing patients to the hospital.
9. Poisoning – Get familiar with what to do in the event someone overdoses on drugs or ingests toxic chemicals. This unit addresses how to identify poisoning caused by bites and stings and what to do if a patient goes into anaphylaxis shock.
10. Hemorrhages and Hypoglycemia – Read all about the four classes of hemorrhaging (loss of blood) and what to do in this event. This model also overviews hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and what to use on hand for restoring a sense of calm and well-being in patients.
11. Choking – Learn the best techniques for dislodging objects in the windpipe of infants, children, and adults. The Heimlich maneuver is usually used for older children and adults and video demos of this technique are available in the curriculum. BLS trainees, in addition, learn what to do if patients are unconscious. This module also provides a crash course on the basic treatments for hypothermia and external dehydration.
12. Injuries – Find the best ways to treat eye injuries, including black eye or an eye that has been injured by a chemical solution or foreign object. Also, review the best guidelines for handling concussions, head injuries, or spinal injuries.
13. Shocks, Seizures, and Strokes – Recognize the signs of all three conditions and how to respond, medically speaking, in the best way possible.
14. BLS Test – Finally you’ll be able to test your knowledge of our BLS certification course. After you’ll be prompted for purchase.

Our BLS certification training is a wide-ranging lesson plan that helps rescuers become better prepared for the job at hand. At any given time, participants can skip modules or reread the coursework as-needed.

When studying basic life support, however, health care workers quickly realize that every lesson is interconnected. As a result, The National CPR Foundation recommends studying all modules, as this knowledge can prove invaluable in scenarios where multiple injuries are sustained.

The National CPR Foundation reminds trainees that should medical emergencies unfold in real life, the first course of action is to use basic care techniques, such as applying pressure to severe bleeds and clearing the airway. The next critical step is for rescuers to call 911 and perform CPR until help arrives.