Have you always wanted to know how to help a person suffering from cardiac arrest? Does the thought of saving a life calm your soul and bring a smile to your face? If you have thought of the above, take a BLS certification today. Cardiac arrest poses the leading threat to Americans today. This disease strikes the fittest of people and comes unannounced. For anyone, experiencing a cardiac arrest is a traumatizing experience. Once you take the online BLS Certification, you can help such people and save their lives. This article talks about BLS and the importance of taking this certification course.
What is BLS Certification?
BLS is the acronym for Basic Life Support. It includes procedures that restore normal breathing and heart functions. BLS works on both children and adults. Effective BLS includes using the AED machine. Techniques like airway rescue and CPR also fall within the BLS umbrella. Only a certified healthcare provider, nurse, or licensed bystander should administer BLS. Every first responder uses the DRSABCD process to deliver BLS.
- Danger: Every first aider must assess the surrounding situation. You need to first pull yourself out of danger. Only when you save yourself can you save someone else’s life.
- Response: If you wish to help, you must check the patient for their vitals. Speak to them loudly and try to tap them to wake them up. This method could awaken an unconscious person.
- Send for Help: Even if you work in healthcare, your first response should be to call the Emergency Medical Services Team. You can only stabilize the patient and increase the chances of survival.
- Airway: Check for signs of breathing and tilt their head backward. With a choked airway, performing CPR will not work.
- Breathing: If you are at the site of an accident with debris, check for ingestion through the nose. First, remove this material, then continue the process. Try to inflate the chest; no inflation means something is blocking the airway.
- CPR: Continue by starting the chest compressions first. This step helps circulate the blood to the organs. Blow air into the mouth and repeat the process of chest compressions.
- AED: Give CPR for two to three minutes. If the patient does not get a heartbeat, use the Automatic Electronic defibrillator. It delivers a calculated impulse to the heart muscles.
Steps to get BLS certified
The steps to performing a BLS algorithm may seem lengthy, but it is a swift process. Your mind needs to work rapidly while your hands must continue working. To get a BLS certification, you must take the steps below.
- Depending on where you live, you need to find an accredited institute that offers this course. However, do not lose heart if you do not live in an urban city with great universities. Many institutes now provide you with Online BLS certification. Ensure your course has the American Heart Association accreditation.
- Next, you must enroll in the course and pay the desired fee. Study the course material thoroughly and attend any live sessions they have to offer. Many online institutes offer EMI options allowing you some financial breathing space.
- After you finish the course within the deadline, you must sit for the examination. Institutes take the test in the multiple choice question format. Some other institutions could conduct a practical session as well.
- A BLS certification often comes with a two-year validity. It is the case with all certificates for life-saving skills. Try and take your course from an institute that also has renewal courses. You may also get a discount for being a returning student. It will make your life easier.
Benefits of BLS certification
Upskilling has many tangible and intangible benefits. The peace of mind you get with knowing you can save a family member is one of the biggest. Learning a new skill also keeps Alzheimer’s at bay. Besides these intangible benefits, you also get the below-mentioned tangible ones.
- Many jobs put senior employees in the first aid teams, and they also get a raise for it. Taking up an online BLS certification could help you with a promotion. Once you show an accredited certificate, that much-awaited promotion could be yours.
- Most people wish to restart their careers or explore a new one. Taking a BLS certification will help you focus on a career in the healthcare field. Some jobs like lifeguard, Sports coach, or gym instructor need these certifications.
- Institutes also offer educational credits for life-saving courses. You could drop out of an unwanted class at school and take this certification to cover up the credits.
- Once you learn a life-saving skill, you gain a new level of confidence. It comes from knowing your worth in society. This confidence makes you stand out in a crowd and could help with personality development.
When and why should you renew an online BLS certificate?
Science is an ever-changing field of education. A new thought process could reverse years of study within minutes. With the pairing of technology and medical science, many new techniques are now used compared to the old days. Life-saving skills also have a similar history. CPR followed the air, breathing, and compression method. Ten years ago, the steps changed. Hence the procedure changed from ABC to CAB.
A BLS certification comes with a two-year validity. It is so because, like CPR, many other techniques are constantly under review. Doctors wish to save even a millisecond in administering the proper process. The idea is to help patients survive until the EMS reaches the site. The constant developments in medicine are why you must renew your certificate every two years. Whether you take an offline or online BLS certification, this remains a mandatory step.
Conclusion
Many people think of becoming a superhero to save fellow citizens. But only a few take action on their thoughts, and it does not include swinging on spiderwebs. An Online BLS certification fulfills your dream and helps you with a better career. Take a look at the American HealthCare Academy courses. They offer the BLS certification for healthcare providers and bystanders. Register on the AHCA website today and learn essential life-saving skills before the end of the year.
