ACLS simulators are used in classes to teach caregivers how to apply the ACLS protocol in clinical situations. Simulators can be manikins with programmed scenarios or software programs. ACLS includes interventions beyond BLS, such as administering medications. Simulations provide feedback on interventions, and mistakes can result in negative outcomes. Some facilities have simulators on hand, while others use traveling instructors. Simulators can be expensive and also used for trauma training.
An Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) simulator is a teaching tool used in ACLS classes to provide caregivers with the opportunity to practice skills and become familiar with the ACLS protocol so they know how to apply it in a actual clinical situation. The ACLS simulator can be something like a manikin equipped with a computer, allowing instructors to program in scenarios and remotely control responses, or allow the manikin to run a predefined program. At a less sophisticated level, it could be a software program, where people enter their responses to prompts, and the program simulates a developing clinical emergency.
ACLS is a collection of techniques and interventions available to properly trained caregivers when a patient goes into cardiac arrest. This goes beyond Basic Life Support (BLS), the training provided by people who are likely to be first responders in a scene and often needs to take place in a clinical setting. In addition to measures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation, it also includes administering medications to restart the heart and stabilize the patient.
With an ACLS simulator, students in an ACLS class are given a scenario. The simulator offers information about the patient and the circumstances, and people need to respond as if they were treating a real patient, providing interventions. As the simulation unfolds, the “patient’s” vital signs will change in response to what people do, and constant feedback will be provided so people can see the success of their interventions.
If people make deadly mistakes during the simulation, the fake patient could die or develop a serious health impairment, such as brain damage. The ACLS simulator can determine the outcome on its own in response to the programmed information it stores, or the instructor can shape the direction of the resuscitation by changing parameters. Historically, instructors have run ACLS simulations with basic manikins and things like cards with vital signs and reactions to interventions; the ACLS simulator provides a more sophisticated method of teaching people clinical skills.
Some medical facilities have ACLS simulators that they keep on hand because they regularly offer ACLS classes and want the equipment to be readily available. In other cases, a traveling instructor brings simulators for people to use during a class. An ACLS simulator can be quite expensive, especially in the case of complex medical manikins, and the same manikins used in ACLS simulations can also double for activities such as trauma training, as other injuries and illnesses can be simulated by adjusting the controls. .
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