Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 11, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 11, 2013 Just finished recerting for ATLS today. having previously taken it 4 times I opted for the shorter 5 hr recert course to save 500 bucks. it was 1 "update" lecture then right into testing. no skills stations. no review of didactic material. I passed but felt that I missed out on a lot of what ATLS has to offer. next time I'm going back to the full course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic25 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I just took the 1/2 day refresher last month with Kargiver, and I come at it with a different perspective. I'm not a big fan of the merit badge courses like ATLS, ACLS, etc, so I was happy to have a quick in-quick out refresher course. I don't count on those refreshers to give me much new continuing ed, especially in a field like trauma where the management doesn't change very much. I'd rather spend my time learning something new on my own than spend it rehashing old information in order to get my updated card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 12, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted September 12, 2013 you and kargiver both use u/s a lot more than I do and also do a lot more trauma than I do. you guys could probably get away without taking this course. I need it because the only time I do trauma is as a solo provider at a rural facility. I might run 1 or 2 traumas/month , if that, and you guys might do several/shift. my full time urban job doesn't let the em pas anywhere near the trauma bays unless it is "hey, get the pa to suture up all these lacs". this was the first time the practical test required one to order and analyze fast exams. the images they showed were all fairly obvious but doing u/s as part of the ATLS megacode for me was a total paradigm shift never having practiced it as part of the station before so it was like A,B, C, fast exam, D, E which takes some thinking about if you are used to abcde. I think for folks who don't use the material much the merit badge courses make sense. I especially like ALSO (the ob course) and ABLS, the burn course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic25 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Good points E. I've always thought that ATLS was far more useful for folks working in non-trauma centers; that's where the course originated after all. Regarding the FAST (or any U/S exam), I think a big part of the comfort level is just trying to break the machine out as often as possible and scanning as many patients as you can. If you can scan a ton of stable patients you'll get much more comfortable at identifying the landmarks and knowing badness when you see it. As an example, I'm pretty comfortable with my FAST's but I've been wanting to hone my echo skills, so lately I've been trying to do a bedside echo on all of my chest pain patients, even the stable ROMI's. If your facility has a solid QA program for ultrasound you can get a lot of feedback that will help to improve your imaging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 12, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted September 12, 2013 we just got a new sonosite last month at one of my rural jobs and we are all doing as many fast, ruq/gb, basic ob(empty uterus vs IUP) and IVC studies as possible, often several on the same pt so we can all play if the pt is agreeable. a year from now I hope my u/s skills are much better. at my rural job they are fine with learn as you go. at my primary job they require 800 documented prior studies to touch the machine. one of 18 of our PAs is credentialed(a former u/s tech) and it took him over a year to get clearance despite a 4 yr degree in u/s and a prior job teaching u/s to residents at dartmouth-hitchcock because someone( a gi doc) on the credentialing committee believes "pas don't do u/s". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetMeOuttaThisMess Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 To bring back alive an old thread momentarily, I've given consideration to re-taking an ATLS course in the event I get back into EM at some point. I took the course back in the mid-90's when I had to flash the secret hand sign to even be allowed into the classroom, much less the animal lab. A local EM group requires ACLS (done), ATLS, and PALS (took APLS back about the same time as ATLS and about all I remember from that was the Broselow tape and fewer ACLS drugs, thank goodness). There is a class at the local med school later in March but since we can't "pass/fail" the class since it appears we're still just a fly on the wall, how would one confirm completion (not just attendance) of the course for the employer? I don't recall having received a certificate from the last class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 1, 2014 Author Moderator Share Posted March 1, 2014 we can now get a card for attendance. do the full course, take the written and practical, and get the card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetMeOuttaThisMess Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Thank you sir. I've purchased one of the trauma manuals recommended months back for my Kindle but haven't touched it since I can't finish Gate's non-fiction book about his run as SOD under Bush 43/Obama. It's a snoozefest about a third of the way in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 1, 2014 Author Moderator Share Posted March 1, 2014 ATLS now includes fast exams so if you are not familiar with them take a look at some positive studies. all the ones they show you in the stations are very obvious with lots of blood in the belly. I have done the 1 day recert and it is too fast paced. do the full course. I have taken it 5 times and learn something new every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staplemyfoot Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Similar topic: Is it best to take the full ACLS course or recert? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 1, 2014 Author Moderator Share Posted March 1, 2014 Similar topic: Is it best to take the full ACLS course or recert? recert is probably fine if you use the material on a regular basis. there is also an ACLS for experienced providers course which is fun. it goes over all the optional material in addition to the basics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetMeOuttaThisMess Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 The last one I took a year ago was a joke. I've downloaded the AHA paper and have it saved on my computer. Has algorithms AND justifications for recommendations. In my opinion it depends on how comfortable you are with your core knowledge and knowledge of algorithms. After leaving the ED I never use it so I choose the full course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staplemyfoot Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Thanks for the heads up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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