If you have recently enrolled in nursing school, then your instructors will inform you that you need CPR training before you are able to participate in clinicals held in the hospital setting. This makes sense due to your proximity to individuals who may experience a life-threatening event. But before you sign up for the class that is held closest to you, you want to make sure that you are going to the right one. Keep reading to learn a little bit more about this.
What CPR Class Do I Need?
You should understand that you will need to attend a CPR training class that is specifically designed for the medical professional. This is very different from the type of class that is offered to the general public. This class is the general public CPR class, and you likely will need the basic life support one for medical professionals. This is often abbreviated as the BLS course.
BLS courses are offered as online and in-person classes, and some are a combination of in-person and online. Also, some courses are shorter while others are a bit longer. If you are taking the course for the first time, then you want the longer option that is either 8 hours on one day or split into 4-hour sessions on two days. Sometimes the first 4-hour session can be completed at home and online. This is the information portion of the class, and you will complete all of the hands-on techniques in the classroom during your physical class.
Keep in mind that the complete online courses are often provided to individuals who are renewing their certification, so do not sign up for this. Also, understand that the certification is good for two years, so you will need to renew at some point during nursing school.
What Is Learned In The Class?
You will learn how to complete CPR effectively and properly for infants, children, and adults in your class. This includes understanding how to complete compressions and how deep they need to be for each age group.
In addition to CPR, you will learn basic life-saving skills that include how and when to use an AED. You will also receive information on using emergency medical systems and how to ensure that you are completing your skills in a legal manner.
There are a wide variety of different organizations that offer BLS courses including local and nationally recognized institutions, so you usually have quite a few options available to you when you sign up for your courses.
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