Monday, September 17, 2012

learning to resuscitate.....the proper way.

do you know there are courses that teach the general public as well as paramedical & doctors how to help the collapsed man-on-the -street?

the basic life support course is mainly for laymen while those who have attained basic knowledge can sit for the advanced course. the latter is mainly geared towards paramedicals & doctors.

the course content is essentially based on the guidelines provided by the american heart association or european resuscitation council, & may be modified for local requirements. this was not part of medical undergraduate training, so most of us should attend these courses to update ourselves on advances in resuscitation. i said should because it is not compulsory at the moment.

so, i took it upon myself to attend one last weekend. the content of the course has remain largely unchanged since i last participated more than 10 years ago. it was very useful, to me at least, to re-learn the rigmarole of providing critical care.

each of the participants were tested on the theory & practical aspects of resuscitation. on successful completion of the course, a certificate was given. this is not the end, mind you. the certificate rightly is valid for only 5 years, after which one should to be re-tested. again, i mentioned should because this is not compulsory at the moment.

for more details in learning basic life support, check-out the following websites:
http://www.sjampenang.org.my/training_blsaed.htm
http://www.yjm.org.my/index.cfm?menuid=6
http://blstst10.blogspot.com/


6 comments:

The thumb in every pie said...

Not part of med undergrad training? Seriously? Surprised I am.

pilocarpine said...

http://lowkahpin.blogspot.com/2012/04/acls-awesome-class-in-life-saving.html

A collection of the slides ..

Medie007 said...

hahaha ACLS...

I shocked my SVT. LOL

and come to think of it, i was shit scared and nervous during the exam!

doc said...

Andrea,

we only had informal teaching & practicals on resuscitation during med school partly because BLS/ALS wasn't introduced into m'sia till about 1986. still, even now, it's not in the undergrad curriculum.

at some stage, who knows when, passing the ALS will be made compulsory for all doctors.

doc said...

Pilo,

thanks for the link to your post on resuscitation.

i'm sure you had your share of thrills during the megacode.

doc said...

Medie,

it's OK to shock the SVT if it compromises the circulation, ie. the patient remains unstable despite medical treatment.