BLS certification

[swimerpaco]

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I was wondering if all med schools required Basic Life Support Certification to enroll. For those of you with acceptances, have you heard anything about this?

 

[MWillie]

I haven't heard of any such requirement, it's probably something they teach in medical school anyhow.

 

[indo]

I think they teach some stuff a little above and beyond basic life support in med school.

 

[swimerpaco]

My one acceptance requires it before August. I hope this isn't the beginning of a trend. I can't see myself three years from now taking a "surgery for beginners" online.

 

[mikegoal]

i would hope that anyone applying to med school would have taked cpr but its not a requirement

 

[indo]

My one acceptance requires it before August. I hope this isn't the beginning of a trend. I can't see myself three years from now taking a "surgery for beginners" online.

You can get a bls or cpr certificate online?

 

[beanbean]

It is offered to students at UCONN at no charge. You do not need to be certified before you start, but must take the healthcare provider BLS level CPR or show proof that you have.

You can not get certified online - there is a practical portion to the exam.

 

[Elphie]

I know that several schools (Jefferson & Penn State definitely) have a BLS training thing the first week of orientation. It's a one or two day thing and they get everyone certified then. I am sorry to hear that there are schools out there that require you to do it (i.e. pay for it) on your own.

 

[Siggy]

Come on. I hope if you are interested so much in medicine that you want to be a doctor that you take the time to be CPR certified. Take the $60 AHA one thats good for 2 years...

 

[seethrew]

UVa requested a copy of my BLS cert after I was I accepted. By the time we finish med school we should have ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) I assume.

I am a AHA CPR Instructor and as far as I know you can only get certified for CPR and/or BLS etc. by taking an actual class where you can demonstrate that you can perform the physical skills. You probably can find much material online, but the standard 2 organizations that are recognized for CPR cert (American Heart Association and the Red Cross) will unlikely offer certs online.

Some employers may pay for you to take these courses.

 

[saki0005]

my last job required we take the bls cert course every year. they payed for it, so it was no big deal.

 

[BigRedPingpong]

in NY state you have to have it through out your 4 years. THey pay for it. you do it after class. There is no way you can fail that thing. If you do fail- Try going to the admissions office and tell them they made a huge mistake.

 

[bjackrian]

If you are going to get it, take it from the Heart Association. I'm a Red Cross Instructor for the class, and while I like the Red Cross, their cert's only good for one year and they're much slower to update their curriculum to reflect the newest techniques. AHA is more up-to-date and gives you a two-year cert.

Just some advice from your friendly local Red Cross Instructor.

 

[DrMom]

If you are going to get it, take it from the Heart Association. I'm a Red Cross Instructor for the class, and while I like the Red Cross, their cert's only good for one year and they're much slower to update their curriculum to reflect the newest techniques. AHA is more up-to-date and gives you a two-year cert.

Just some advice from your friendly local Red Cross Instructor.

As a former Red Cross Instructor, I agree. The ARC courses are really more geared towards the general community, anyways.


As to BLS cert and med school: you'll want to find out your school's policy. As others have pointed out, some require it before you start. My school did the course for all of us during orientation week. We all renewed together at the end of MS2 and then took ACLS together. We'll be due to renew both right before internship.

 

[swimerpaco]

Thanks for all the info guys.