What You Should Look for in an Online ACLS Course
Are you looking for a better way to receive or renew your ACLS certification? Heading online for your course is the easiest way to go. Thanks to the wonders of technology, getting all the credentials you need has never been easier. Gone are the days when you needed to sign up for expensive live courses that eat up as much of your time as they do your money. The medical community needs as many willing hands as possible, and fast!
Online courses are the answer to providing a faster, more convenient method of certification to today’s healthcare professionals, without compromising effectiveness.
There are plenty of websites to choose from, however, and having too many choices can make selecting the right certification website confusing. So which one do you choose? How do you know the website you’re using is legitimate, or the best choice of the bunch? There are several tells that indicate a great program. When conducting research regarding the right website, you’ll need to make sure the one you’re signing up for has each of the following.
Here’s what to look out for when finding an online ACLS course.
Fair Pricing
Finding the right price is an important part of the certification course hunting process. This isn’t to say that the price should solely determine whether or not you sign up. Healthcare certifications are important, and it’s essential that you make an investment in your career. There’s a reason why great courses are priced as they are, so opting for something cheap could end you up with something that is virtually useless. No one wants that!
Trustworthy certification courses range from around $129 to $275, depending on the website you use, and whether or not you’re renewing or testing for the first time. Don’t be fooled by a larger price tag — less expensive options are typically just as suitable as the pricier ones, and they’re also just as acceptable by healthcare workplace standards.
Acceptance
One of the key reasons you’re getting your ACLS certification is to meet the requirements of your workplace. That’s why it’s so important that the ACLS course you decide to take on is widely accepted in the US — and more importantly, by your work administration. It can be hard to tell just by looking at a website, whether or not the course you’re looking at is widely accepted. If you aren’t entirely sure, it doesn’t hurt to ask your workplace about whether or not they’ll accept the certification you receive from that site. Some workplaces have preferred certification programs they want their health workers to take, but others don’t mind letting you choose, as long as the material you’re learning is standardized. This leads us to our next factor;
AHA and ILCOR Compliance
Perhaps one of the most important factors on this list is compliance with the American Heart Association (AHA) and the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR). Of these two organizations, you’ll see the most certification websites reference the AHA — this is because the AHA’s guidelines are based on those of the ILCOR.
Keep in mind that the AHA does not certify or accredit any online ACLS courses. Any certification website that tells you otherwise should be ignored. However, trustworthy ACLS course providers do strictly adhere to AHA guidelines. This adherence is a crucial part of whether or not your ACLS certification is recognized nationwide.
Useful Resources
Online learning should require all the material you need to gain a true understanding of the core concepts, but it also means there’s no one right in front of you if you have any specific questions you need answering. With great customer support services, you’ll be able to send in your questions about anything, from the course content to your method of payment.
Be careful, as some websites merely provide you with the course material and have little to no support services. No one wants to feel like they’re on their own, especially if they’re trying to learn about something that could save lives. Make sure that the website you choose has a messaging center you can use to send in your inquiries. Want to test out their response time? Think hard about a question you might have pertaining to the course you’d like to take and send it before signing up. Did they take forever to respond? You might want to consider finding another certification provider.
A Money-Back Guarantee
If the website you’re using is good, you shouldn’t need to ever use a money-back guarantee, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have one. A money-back guarantee is a certification website’s way of telling you that what they’re offering is the real deal. You aren’t paying for an ACLS certification — or a PALS, BLS, or CPR certification, for that matter — just to have your workplace deny its validity. Some certification websites know their programs have limited acceptance and provide stingy refund policies to protect against this. A trusted website will give you options for recovery.
Money-back guarantees are also about flexibility. You could pay for a course only to realize that it isn’t relevant to you or your job anymore. In this case, you’ll want an understanding certification service.
Reviews
A trusted website is one with nothing to hide. You can’t base your entire opinion about a certification website on recommendations or reviews, but they’re definitely worth a read. A trustworthy certification website will leave up all its reviews, both positive and negative. The goal here isn’t to find a website with a 100% rating — there’s no such thing. But, you’ll want to find a site with mostly positive reviews from people who have taken the courses.
Looking for a trusted website to complete your ALCS training? ProMed has certification courses designed by esteemed healthcare professionals. Our programs are AHA and ILCOR compliant, and our highly reviewed courses come with a 100% money-back guarantee. Check out our courses today!
