Resuscitation Council (UK) Advanced Life Support

The two-day Advanced Life Support (ALS) provider course is designed to improve your confidence and clinical competency if you're expected to apply the skills during a medical emergency, or to teach them on a regular basis.

The Resuscitation Council (UK) Advanced Life Support (ALS) course is a standardised national course teaching evidence-based resuscitation guidelines and skills to healthcare professionals in the UK. It's a prerequisite of employment in many healthcare Trusts and similar settings, and is recognised as forming part of your continuing professional development.

The ALS course is often a requirement of healthcare employment overseas too, and has been adopted by the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) and the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) as the clinical standard in adult resuscitation. (As systems vary between organisations, check with your professional body for the latest requirements.)

By completing this course, you'll be able manage the resuscitation of patients with greater confidence and integrate into cardiac arrest teams who've been trained to the same standard. You'll acquire the knowledge and skills you need to:

• recognise and treat deteriorating patients using a structured ABCDE approach
• treat cardiac and/or respiratory arrest, including starting CPR, manual defibrillation, life-threatening arrhythmias, and post-resuscitation care
• care for deteriorating patients or patients in cardiac and/or respiratory arrest in special circumstances such as anaphylaxis and pregnancy
• lead a team, work as a team member, and use structured communication skills, including giving an effective handover.

The course takes two days, which are very intensive. You'll be sent the ALS manual one month before you start, and be asked to complete a pre-course multiple choice paper to guide preparation.

Our instructors come from a wide range of healthcare backgrounds including cardiology, anaesthesia, emergency medicine and general medicine, and pre-hospital care. The course includes core lectures and interactive workshops. Face-to-face teaching is mainly delivered in small groups with hands-on practical skill stations and clinically-based simulations. The simulations are designed to develop your team and communication skills using the resuscitation skills and knowledge acquired during the course.

• ALS in perspective
• Causes and prevention of cardiac arrest
• Acute coronary syndromes
• ALS algorithm
• Post-resuscitation care

• Decisions relating to resuscitation
• Cardiac arrest simulation demonstration

• Monitoring, rhythm recognition and 12-lead ECG
• Tachycardia, cardioversion and drugs
• Bradycardia, pacing and drugs
• Special circumstances
• Arterial blood gas analysis

• Airway management
• Initial assessment and resuscitation
• Cardiac arrest management (simulations)