ALS is Resuscitation Council UK’s longest running course and has been used to train healthcare professionals for over 25 years. We have used our evidence-based Guidelines to create an ALS programme that targets key areas of resuscitation and will help build the confidence needed to take the lead in an emergency.
As part of the course, you’ll have the opportunity to flex your practical skills with simulations and workshops and broaden your understanding of ALS with lectures and skill stations.
During the course, you will develop the knowledge and skills required to:
- Recognise and manage the deteriorating patient using a structured ABCDE approach;
- Deliver standardised CPR in adults;
- Manage a cardiac arrest by working with a multidisciplinary team in an emergency situation;
- Become an effective and confident team member and leader by utilizing non-technical skills.
Who is the course for?
The ALS provider course is designed for healthcare professionals who need skills in advanced life support as part of their clinical duties, as well as those who teach these skills on a regular basis. This includes doctors, paramedics and nurses working in acute care areas (e.g. ED, CCU, ICU, HDU, operating theatres, acute medical admissions units) or on resuscitation/ medical emergency/ Critical Care Outreach teams.
All applicants must hold a professional healthcare qualification or be in training for a professional healthcare qualification. Medical students in their final year of training can be accepted as candidates if this is an established local arrangement.
The Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK) Advanced Life Support (ALS) course is relevant to healthcare professionals, including foundation and specialist trainees, nursing staff and allied health professionals.
This curriculum map has been produced by the RCUK to illustrate the potential key capabilities that may be achieved when undertaking or instructing on an ALS course.
indicates a capability highly likely to be achieved and ( ) indicates a capability that might be achieved by attending or instructing on the relevant RCUK course. Any capability achieved during a RCUK course will need to be accompanied by appropriate supporting evidence, and this responsibility lies with the individual.
This list is not exhaustive and other capabilities may be achieved based upon individual experiences.
Please click on the relevant curriculum or training programme to download how the RCUK ALS course may support the acquisition of key capabilities within specialist learning objectives for career or training progression.
Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RECM) 2021 Curriculum
Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) 2021 Curriculum
The Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine (FICM) 2021 Curriculum
Nursing and Midwifery Council
The modular ALS course is run over a number of days, and Candidates must attend every timetabled component in order to complete the course. Your course will take place in a Resuscitation Council UK Course Centre.
All of our Course Centres are approved and certified by Resuscitation Council UK. Courses are run by dedicated and qualified Instructors, who have taken an RCUK Instructor course to guarantee that our courses are uniform and the content remains the same across our Course Centres.
Pre course preparation:
Before the course, you will be registered on our Learning Management System (LMS). Here, you can access course modules, a pre-course multiple choice question (MCQ) paper, your course evaluation and your post-course certificates.
You will receive your course manual one month before the course. Candidates are expected to read the manual in preparation for the course and submit a completed pre-course MCQ paper before the course begins.
Programme:
Across the modules, you will take part in lectures, interactive workshops, skill stations and cardiac arrest simulations (CASTeach).
Assessment and certification:
During the course, Candidates will be continuously assessed based on their performance in clinical simulations. You will be expected to show competency in the core teachings of the course, including airway management, high quality CPR and defibrillation, and cardiac arrest management.
At the end of the course, theoretical knowledge will be formally tested with an MCQ paper and a cardiac arrest simulation.
Candidates who successfully complete the course will be awarded with a Resuscitation Council UK ALS provider certificate, which is valid for four years and recognised in healthcare settings in the UK, Europe and Australia.
This course is recognised as continuing professional development (CPD) by the Medical, Dental and Nursing Royal Colleges and Health Care Professional Council. Please contact your registering body for further information.
The first step is to find a Course Centre near you. Below, you’ll find an area where you can search for local courses and find out how to get in touch with the organiser.
Course fees are decided locally by the Course Centre; Resuscitation Council UK only charges the Course Centre £29.90 per Candidate registration and £33.35 per ALS manual.
Courses often book quickly, so we would advise planning your attendance well in advance of when you want to train. Modular ALS is only available in a handful of Course Centres across the UK. To find a course closer to you, consider taking a standard two-day ALS course.
If you are a healthcare professional who would be expected to apply the skills taught as part of your clinical duties, or to teach them on a regular basis, you are eligible to participate on the ALS course. Appropriate applicants include doctors, nurses working in critical care areas (e.g. ED, CCU, ICU, HDU, operating theatres, acute medical admissions units), paramedics, ICU outreach teams or in the resuscitation/medical emergency team.
All applicants must hold a current clinical appointment and professional healthcare qualification or be in training for a professional healthcare qualification.
Medical students, student nurses and other healthcare providers not covered in the groups above should be encouraged to complete the Immediate Life Support (ILS) course. Those with a particular interest in resuscitation should then consider attending an ALS provider course, where appropriate. Medical students in their final year of training can be accepted as candidates on an ALS course if this is an established local arrangement.
The cost of the course is set locally by the Course Centre; it includes the cost of registration and the course materials (which are provided by the RCUK).
Yes, CPD points are available according to the table below. If you have any further queries regarding CPD points, please contact the Royal Colleges directly.
CPD points | ||
Provider course | Candidates | Faculty |
ALS (two day course) | 10 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
e-ALS (one day course) | 5 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
ALS recertification (one day course) | 5 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
EPALS (2-day) | 10 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
NLS (one day course) | 5 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
ARNI (one day course) | 10 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
ILS (one day course) | 5 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
PILS (one day course | 5 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
For accreditation of other healthcare staff, please see ‘continuing professional development statement' in ‘related documents.’
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