Atls

[Arcan57]

Just got done taking ATLS and cannot believe I had to spend two days out of my life for the merit badge. One of the evaluators during the practice moulage patient asked me if I thought the course was valuable. And frankly, as a BC EM doctor it is not. To the FM doc I was testing with that went straight for the crich because of blood in the oropharynx and thought that the pressure dressing oozing blood meant the hemorrhage was controlled, I worry that he will have some sort of false confidence regarding his ability to deal with major trauma when he's moonlighting in the ED. At least the other crap we have to cert for can be done on-line...

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[EMDoc0411]

Just got done taking ATLS and cannot believe I had to spend two days out of my life for the merit badge. One of the evaluators during the practice moulage patient asked me if I thought the course was valuable. And frankly, as a BC EM doctor it is not. To the FM doc I was testing with that went straight for the crich because of blood in the oropharynx and thought that the pressure dressing oozing blood meant the hemorrhage was controlled, I worry that he will have some sort of false confidence regarding his ability to deal with major trauma when he's moonlighting in the ED. At least the other crap we have to cert for can be done on-line...

Who or what is requiring you to take ATLS as a board certified doc. I thought the military was the only organization that didn't allow board certification to trump all of the other merit badge certs.

 

[roja]

I am starting a new job and had to go through credentialing. They made me take PALS and ACLS. I searched for the ACEP policy statements regarding this hoping I could avoid it but no such luck.

 

[WilcoWorld]

I think that ACS requires that Level 1 trauma centers have attendings take ATLS, but I could be wrong.

I agree though - for a BC EP it's a pretty useless, perhaps even harmful, course.

 

[Arcan57]

I did get to see some eye opening practices at the local trauma center. Like immediately ripping out any io lines from the field and doing saphenous cutdowns in the inguinal region for difficult access.

 

[Hamhock]

Anyone else see one of B. Mallon's rants regarding merit badges. Damn funny ****.

I agree with him: I don't need no stinking badges.

The only thing worse than ATLS is ACLS.

HH

 

[deleted109597]

I actually didn't find a single job in my search that didn't require the merit badges. It is hospital policy usually, and the groups don't have any way of proving to the hospital that BC/BE is adequate.
To their credit, most of the anesthesia/surgery/critical care people also have to get merit badges. I blame this on the medical societies backing down.

 

[Hamhock]

The resus topics covered in ACLS/ATLS/PALS are really pure EM and should be governed by EM and/or anesthesiology (with the exception of ATLS)...sadly, this won't happen for years and we weaklings are just happy to have a few EM folks on the ATLS board.

HH
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[Apollyon]

To counter DrMcNinja, I haven't found one job that DID require any of the merit badges. And these aren't podunk places, without any EM BP/BC docs. It's not a pervasive thing.

 

[tkim]

Ditto Apollyon - credentialing for my job did not require anything besides graduating from an EM residency ... and 100 pages of paperwork.

 

[southerndoc]

I'm on the credentials committee of my hospital, but we can't eliminate the merit badge courses from EM credentialing without getting the other 4 hospitals in our health system on board. I'm hoping to accomplish this soon.

Board certification in EM should be exempt from ACLS/PALS/ATLS certifications. Likewise, board certification in cardiology or pulmonology should be exempt from ACLS. Surgeons should be exempt from ATLS.

The problem comes from pediatricians and internists who do not routinely perform critical procedures. They may claim to be exempt from ACLS or PALS.

There are a few other merit badge courses making their way through the hospital rounds. Advanced Stroke Life Support and Advanced Burn Life Support. Before long, there will be Advanced Emergency Medical Records Life Support. Don't forget Advanced Pain Management Life Support.

The list is getting too excessive.

 

[docB]

Just got done taking ATLS and cannot believe I had to spend two days out of my life for the merit badge. One of the evaluators during the practice moulage patient asked me if I thought the course was valuable. And frankly, as a BC EM doctor it is not. To the FM doc I was testing with that went straight for the crich because of blood in the oropharynx and thought that the pressure dressing oozing blood meant the hemorrhage was controlled, I worry that he will have some sort of false confidence regarding his ability to deal with major trauma when he's moonlighting in the ED. At least the other crap we have to cert for can be done on-line...

Wait 'til you have to recert. I just recerted it for the second time. That's $350 a pop and this time I had to go to Tucson because there was no space locally. It actually turned into a nice vacation.

 

[docB]

I am starting a new job and had to go through credentialing. They made me take PALS and ACLS. I searched for the ACEP policy statements regarding this hoping I could avoid it but no such luck.

Here you go:

http://www.acep.org/Content.aspx?id=29844

Excerpt:

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) believes that board certification by the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) or the American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine (AOBEM) demonstrates comprehensive training, knowledge, and skill in the practice of emergency medicine. Certificates of short course completion in various core content areas of emergency medicine may serve as evidence of focused review; however, ABEM or AOBEM certification in emergency medicine supersedes evidence of the completion of such courses.

 

[dr. maybe]

In somewhat of the same topic, I am wondering how to recert my PALS and ACLS. I am not at an academic center and, looking online, it appears that it costs almost $200 for each of these. Is this realistic or is there an easier way to do this? I live in a metropolitan area.
Thanks

 

[Arcan57]

Online PALS and ACLS run around $150.