Dang-nab-it, it is such a pain in the ass to have to re-cert every year for at least one thing or the other. One year it is BLS/ACLS, the next year it is PALS and every 4 years it is ATLS. Add in the “Mandatory Education” that we have to do as hospital employees (featuring questions on the use of the fire extinguisher, to HIPAA, to how to prevent elderly patients from falling out of bed), Conscious Sedation credentialing, CME, and the re-certing stuff for the ER boards (LLSA and CONCERT exams), and it seems like I am always having to take some confounded test! I personally think it is ridiculous that we (full time ER docs and RN’s) have to re-cert in ACLS and PALS every two years if we work in a facility where we do it all the time. A little Internet-based refresher for any new recommendations would be an enormously better use of time.
But alas, until that day comes, I will have to keep myself busy by making sarcastic comments at the mandatory videos we have to watch for the classes. Such as:
“That woman’s (the host of the show) pants are pulled too far up. ”
(While watching video of actual children in respiratory distress in the ICU): “WTF!?! That kid has no oxygen on!”
(While watching actors run a staged pediatric code): “The doctor and the medic (both men) are looking at each other like they want to boink after the shoot is over. ”
“The background music they are playing is clearly not dramatic enough. Break out the timpani drums!”
The response I get? “Shut up ERP and pay attention to the video”.
Sigh.
I had to take my 10 year neurology re-cert boards earlier this year. Studying for them was a hell of a lot harder than it used to be. I didn’t have 3 kids last time.
We do that all the time in nursing school…do they threaten to fail YOU if you make comments at the video?
i don’t see why we can’t get on-the-job re-cert for bls/acls. we do this stuff in our sleep. on the other hand it was interesting seeing some of the surgeons “run” codes at the last re-cert exam. (yes, i’m aware that i’m probably not that good at taking out someone’s appendix)
I always figured that the ACLS and PALS videos were full of intentional dry humor. I mean if you are going to make an educational video that suck, why not relish the absolute horrificness of your acting.
Kind of like the OSHA videos. Oh baby, make it hurt so good!
All of these courses should be a one time thing, with an annual update you get in the mail.
Back in the day when I still cared I taught ACLS. I always made it entertaining, I had to as the gas passer that taught with me made Drackman look tame. It is dry, it sucks,and is a waste of time for most, sans a hospitalist here and there.
None of it has made any dramatic changes in the last 15 years, and I to this day I still prefer Lidocaine to amiodarone.
Its all about the money! Cards are 3-5 bucks each plus 20+ dollar books. Then add into some doc decides that everyone should be doing chest compressions at 2.5″ instead of 2.25″ and everyone needs to be retrained. More cards, New books etc. We practice medicine so other people can make money telling us how we’re supposed to be doing it.
Hey now, I resemble that remark, “Its all about the money”
I have to teach those classes, but what is really bad is that we are not allowed to really teach them. We have to go by the script and play the videos. God forbid we make up our own cases
The hospital just made me get BLS and ACLS certified…for my hospice and palliative medicine position. “No exceptions.”