Basic Life Support (BLS) certification is a core requirement for anyone working in the healthcare industry.
As medical professionals, your duty is to protect and save lives in emergencies. BLS certification ensures healthcare workers have the necessary lifesaving skills to intervene promptly and effectively in a medical crisis.
While some may view BLS training as an extra hurdle, it provides a vital foundation that can make the difference between life and death for patients. This article discusses why obtaining and maintaining BLS certification is essential for healthcare professionals.
1.All hands on deck in an emergency
The primary reason there is a need for BLS certification in healthcare is the possibility of a cardiac arrest or other medical emergency arising at any possible time in any given facility or department. Cardiac arrests especially can be unforeseen by the patient and the staff with no precursory symptoms.
As a healthcare provider, you are morally obligated to be able to handle such an emergency, regardless of your particular role or area of practice. BLS certification ensures a fundamental minimum level of training for all providers so that anyone nearby can step up and initiate lifesaving measures like CPR until more advanced help is available.
In the case of cardiac arrest, every second counts. Therefore, the more certified helpers that can be comfortable with providing chest compressions and using an AED, the more likely those chances of survival will increase.
2.BLS as a foundation for advanced care
BLS skills like CPR, using an AED, and managing airways provide the necessary basis of care to sustain life until more advanced resuscitation techniques or emergency medical responders can take over.
For many healthcare workers, such as medical assistants, orderlies, or administrative staff, BLS certification is the minimum standard for an emergency response. However, having a universal standardized foundation in basic lifesaving practices serves all medical personnel well, regardless of their licensure level or specialty.
BLS certification helps practitioners develop calmness under pressure and confidence in intervening medically before furthering their education and clinical experience. It also reinforces an understanding of human anatomy and physiology primarily related to breathing, circulation, and the concept of chain of survival.
This foundational experience carries through as healthcare providers obtain additional qualifications. For instance, it primes paramedics, nurses, and doctors to integrate more complex care like tracheal intubation, shock management, and advanced cardiac life support techniques into the emergency response sequence smoothly. Henceforth, BLS skills remain the vital first steps that any higher-level resuscitation will build upon.
3.Staying current boosts competence
Re-certification goes beyond the initial training course. These requirements ensure that healthcare workers maintain valid BLS certification to maintain their lifesaving skills in the long term. Medical best practices change over time, and BLS guidelines from health organizations are updated every five years to include the most recent evidence and techniques.
Consequently, regular retraining refreshes core skills, allows for practice in newly recommended protocols and helps overcome areas of rustiness that may develop from the infrequent use of these skills between emergencies. It also leads to networking with colleagues and sharing the challenges encountered in one’s work, reinforcing one’s dedication to patient advocacy.
Additionally, it is easy to become complacent in practice within a medical facility and to rely on others for emergencies. One can stand aside in an emergency, relying on emergency personnel, rather than to maintain personal competency actively.
The nature of healthcare is one of responsible flexibility, which can be redeployed when needed. Unexpected changes, such as staffing shortages, last-minute call-ins, or floating between units, could find anybody in the unfamiliar emergency response role of providing hands-on care.
So, ensuring all care team members have current BLS credentials will provide consistent, high-quality primary cardiac care throughout the institution, regardless of daily shift assignments or staffing circumstances. This consistency gives all workers the ability to rise to any situation competently.
4.Legal and regulatory compliance expectations
Beyond being best practice, maintaining valid BLS certification is often a contractual requirement mandated by healthcare employers and regulators. Facilities risk noncompliance and potential penalties for deficiencies in life safety standards audits if employees are not verified as up-to-date in BLS per schedule.
Usually, some state licensure boards also reference a certain threshold of hours in BLS to maintain credentials for licensed providers like nurses. Hospitals and clinics must demonstrate due diligence that their entire workforce remains appropriately qualified for emergency response duties as per accrediting body guidelines.
Additionally, not having current BLS status could conceivably open providers up to negligence claims under rare circumstances if an incident were to occur and skills appeared subpar. While the primary goal is certainly not legal liability but rather patient advocacy, certifying shows ongoing personal investment in clinical competency that bolsters quality and safety protections for all involved.
Generally, healthcare administration benefits from broad-reaching BLS readiness across multidisciplinary staff, ensuring operations align legally and ethically with continually upheld lifesaving standards. Therefore, Compliance lays the groundwork for a culture of excellence upheld through individual commitment.
Bottom line
BLS certification is not an add-on but an inherent portion of professional health workers’ work. For sure, BLS training trains the habits that offer protection to patients from avoidable harm, equipping the responder with the ability to promptly recognize and attend to medical emergencies with structure, skill, and confidence.
Although more advanced qualifications enhance competency, no clinician is ever truly “off-duty” from the necessary emergency response roles. Maintaining current BLS status retains this responsibility, and the continued performance of such skills and legal adherence in the performance of such skills ultimately raises entire healthcare communities.
Therefore, being actively certified in BLS should be encouraged as the gold standard and a non-negotiable for all who aspire to offer lifesaving services as part of the medical profession.
