Advanced cardiac life support

Advanced cardiac life support is a protocol for handling patients who are experiencing serious medical emergencies such as cardiac arrest, ACLS also refers to the skills and training necessary to use the protocol safely and properly. Because ACLS involves advanced medical skills, certification and training in ACLS is only offered to medical professionals such as doctors and nurses, since lay people do not have the necessary knowledge and skills. 

Medical interventions such as intubation to open the airway and shocking a patient to regulate heart rhythm are one part of ACLS, as is the administration of pharmaceuticals, which are intended to assist with resuscitation. A ACLS provider must be able to rapidly and accurately read data like electrocardiograms, and make decisions for the patient based on this data ACLS certification also includes training in how to start intravenous (IV) lines, giving medical personnel quick access to the patient's veins. Surgical intervention such as the placement of central lines and chest tubes is also included in ACLS training.

In addition to resuscitation, the goal of ACLS is to begin to identify what is wrong with the patient, so that a long-term treatment plan can be created. ACLS guidelines are constantly changing, due to new information in the medical field, and frequent recertification is required for people after they are certified. Recertification also ensures that the material is always fresh, so that a healthcare provider can confidently make the right decision in a critical moment.
 
PHTLS  Prehospital Trauma Life Support

NAEMT's Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) is recognized around the world as the leading continuing education program for Prehospital emergency trauma care. 

PHTLS promotes excellence in trauma patient management through global education of all providers involved in the delivery of Prehospital care.

PHTLS is developed by NAEMT in cooperation with the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma.
 
PHTLS courses improve the quality of trauma care in your area and decrease mortality. The program is based on a Prehospital trauma care philosophy, stressing the treatment of the multi-system trauma patient as a unique entity with specific needs. This may require an approach to the trauma patient that varies from traditional treatment modalities. 

PHTLS promotes critical thinking as the foundation for providing quality care. It is based on the belief that, given a good fund of knowledge and key principles, EMS providers are capable of making reasoned decisions regarding patient care. Although PHTLS originated in the United States, it has evolved and now serves as an international education program available to EMS providers in 34 countries including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Kenya, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Uruguay.  

PALS

Pediatric advanced life support

PALS stand for pediatric advanced life support. The program was developed by the AHA in conjunction with the AAP to equip health care professionals with the essential skills to effectively recognize and react to critical injuries or conditions in children and infants

PALS certification can be important for anyone who works directly with children in the healthcare field. The PALS program was created as a joint effort between the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to assist professional health care providers in assessing and treating pediatric patients. The program was designed to help health care professionals streamline the treatment and care of pediatric patients to ensure providers have the special training required to deal with injuries in children and infants who require critical care.

Participation in the PALS program teaches emergency response to critical health conditions. Among other things, students in the PALS program learn child CPR, as well as proper defibrillator use. This class specifically tailors the information to efficiently and safely help children. CPR administration differs when performed on children because more compression is used then when CPR is administered to adults.