We had the chance to use the simulator lab today to learn and try ACLS. It was a lot of fun although quite confusing. I bet I could do better if I just got to practice more but access to our lab is limited. So I was thinking of using one of those online ACLS simulators. I took a quick look and the few that I saw are kinda expensive - I want to make sure that if I get one, its good and is as realistic as possible (like the simulator lab). Anybody have any experience with them? Any recommendations? Thanks.
online ACLS simulators?
- Thread starter stringjim
- Start date
just attend an ACLS course and you'll be fine. There's little need to spend extra money when you'll pass anyway if you study the materials given and pay attention during the simulations they run the course itself. And once you do, just pay attention everytime there's a code situation so you get it ingrained in your head.
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2005
- Messages
- 949
- Reaction score
- 16
Try this:
http://www.netmedicine.com/cyberpt/acls/al2-001.html
The truth is sims are good for putting everything together, practicing managing transitions and team work. It may not be the best way to "learn" ACLS. Finally memorize the ACLS algorrhythms for each arrhythmia. Think in your mind "okay, I have v-fib, I shock, what would I do if it was then PEA? Okay, I've done all that, now what do I do for asystole?"
Know those things and then the simulation is worth your while. Otherwise it's fumbling in the dark and learning bad habits at worst, at best it's slow going.
You should start by having an ACLS book. Then make sure you know all the drugs cold: dosages, indications, contraindications etc. Also make sure you know how to read an ECG in lead two, be able to identify all the rhythms that are in ACLS (narrow tachy, narrow brady etc etc)
http://www.netmedicine.com/cyberpt/acls/al2-001.html
The truth is sims are good for putting everything together, practicing managing transitions and team work. It may not be the best way to "learn" ACLS. Finally memorize the ACLS algorrhythms for each arrhythmia. Think in your mind "okay, I have v-fib, I shock, what would I do if it was then PEA? Okay, I've done all that, now what do I do for asystole?"
Know those things and then the simulation is worth your while. Otherwise it's fumbling in the dark and learning bad habits at worst, at best it's slow going.
You should start by having an ACLS book. Then make sure you know all the drugs cold: dosages, indications, contraindications etc. Also make sure you know how to read an ECG in lead two, be able to identify all the rhythms that are in ACLS (narrow tachy, narrow brady etc etc)
Thanks for the link. It was pretty good but too bad there was only one case. That's sort of like the stuff I'm looking for but more realistic (like timing and stuff). You know, its kinda funny and but we got to see videos of the interns doing the simulator lab. What was disturbing is that these people are all ACLS certified but most of them were either clueless (and killed their patients) or made a ton of mistakes. Maybe I'm just being naive but shouldn't they be competent if they're certified? I don't want to be like that when I become an intern - I don't think its right for the patients.
The senior residents looked better but according to the attending running the lab, they still could have done a bunch of things better and faster. It's pretty much as you said jbar, they had trouble with putting things together well even though they knew the algorithms.
I've been studying the ACLS protocols ever since the simulator lab experience and I think I'm getting better at them. However, I'd really like to test how well I know them, and how well I can make the right things happen.
So, I've been researching the different ones out there and the two cheapest ones I found are SimCode ACLS at $10/mo and one by Anesoft for $69. There's another one but it looks quite outdated. I'm going to give the first one a try since its only $10. There's a demo for the Anesoft one but I haven't been able to get it working yet. I'll let you guys know how they are after I give them a whirl.
The senior residents looked better but according to the attending running the lab, they still could have done a bunch of things better and faster. It's pretty much as you said jbar, they had trouble with putting things together well even though they knew the algorithms.
I've been studying the ACLS protocols ever since the simulator lab experience and I think I'm getting better at them. However, I'd really like to test how well I know them, and how well I can make the right things happen.
So, I've been researching the different ones out there and the two cheapest ones I found are SimCode ACLS at $10/mo and one by Anesoft for $69. There's another one but it looks quite outdated. I'm going to give the first one a try since its only $10. There's a demo for the Anesoft one but I haven't been able to get it working yet. I'll let you guys know how they are after I give them a whirl.
Well, the unfortunate truth is that residents who don't need to think about ACLS everyday and aren't exposed to it on a regular basis in real-life practice are gonna be a bit clueless when it has to be performed in real life. This is why 3rd year med students may know a lot of things that residents and attendings don't know (they've been recently exposed) This is why a code in the ER or ICU will probably be a lot smoother than a code on the floors unless you ahve a dedicated rapid response team that isn'tjust the resident who happens to be assigned that day.
Alrighty, finally got a chance to put some time into the online ACLS simulators. I signed up for the SimCode ACLS one and was also able to get the Anesoft demo to work as well. From what I saw, my vote goes for the simcode one. Maybe it's because the demo was a demo but it didn't have the feel of a good simulation, like the simlab. The interface is clunky and looks like its from the 90's - but the main problem was that I couldn't tell if the things I did made any difference (aside from the ones that changed the score). The feedback was pretty good though, so that did help.
SimCode ACLS looks and feels very different. Instead of using a small grainy video, the whole screen is like an interactive video, allowing you to direct your assistants directly by clicking on them and moving them around. Things take time to happen and you can do multiple things at once, similar to real-life. What I really liked about it is that each case is different so that I didn't end up just memorizing the "script" but rather had to really know the protocol - e.g. different asystole cases required different amount of medications. And the feedback graded me on how fast and how well I did things like compressions and shocking. It really helped me put things together. One thing I would have liked though is more detailed feedback about what I did wrong or could have done better. I had to review the ACLS protocols and play around to figure some things out but that was part of the fun.
All in all, I did about 50 cases this past week and I really feel comfortable with running a code now. I bet I could do it better than most of the residents I saw. Maybe they should be running this simulator too, especially if they don't see codes often.
Anyways, I highly recommend it - for $10, it was well worth it! It's at www.simcodeacls.com if you want to check it out. You can also see the Anesoft demo at www.anesoft.com if you want to check that out. I can't wait until the next real code...😀
SimCode ACLS looks and feels very different. Instead of using a small grainy video, the whole screen is like an interactive video, allowing you to direct your assistants directly by clicking on them and moving them around. Things take time to happen and you can do multiple things at once, similar to real-life. What I really liked about it is that each case is different so that I didn't end up just memorizing the "script" but rather had to really know the protocol - e.g. different asystole cases required different amount of medications. And the feedback graded me on how fast and how well I did things like compressions and shocking. It really helped me put things together. One thing I would have liked though is more detailed feedback about what I did wrong or could have done better. I had to review the ACLS protocols and play around to figure some things out but that was part of the fun.
All in all, I did about 50 cases this past week and I really feel comfortable with running a code now. I bet I could do it better than most of the residents I saw. Maybe they should be running this simulator too, especially if they don't see codes often.
Anyways, I highly recommend it - for $10, it was well worth it! It's at www.simcodeacls.com if you want to check it out. You can also see the Anesoft demo at www.anesoft.com if you want to check that out. I can't wait until the next real code...😀
