***Course Purpose
The American Red Cross Basic Life Support (BLS) Instructor-Led Training course provides participants with the knowledge and skills they need to assess, recognize and care for patients who are experiencing respiratory arrest or respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, airway obstruction, opioid overdose or other life-threatening injury or illness. When a patient experiences a life-threatening emergency, healthcare providers need to act swiftly and promptly. The course emphasizes providing high-quality care and integrating psychomotor skills with critical thinking and problem solving to achieve the best possible patient outcomes.
***Course Objectives
After completing the course, participants will be able to:
■ Apply concepts of effective teamwork when caring for a patient experiencing a life-threatening emergency.
■ Integrate communication, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills during a high-performance BLS team response
■ Apply a systematic, continuous approach to assess, recognize and care for adults, children and infants experiencing a life-threatening emergency.
■ Perform a rapid assessment for responsive and unresponsive adults, children and infants.
■ Effectively care for adults, children and infants experiencing a life-threatening injury or illness.
■ Effectively care for adults, children and infants in respiratory arrest or respiratory failure.
■ State the principles of high-quality CPR for adults, children and infants.
■ Identify BLS differences among adults, children and infants.
■ Provide high-quality chest compressions for adults, children and infants.
■ Deliver effective ventilations to adults, children and infants using a pocket mask and bag-valve-mask (BVM) resuscitator.
■ Demonstrate effective use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) for adults, children and infants.
■ Provide high-quality BLS care for adults, children and infants in single- and multiple-provider situations.
■ Deliver effective back blows, abdominal thrusts and chest thrusts for adults, children and infants with airway obstruction.
■ State the principles of caring for a pregnant patient in cardiac arrest.
■ State the principles of care for a patient experiencing an opioid overdose.
***Course Participants
The intended audience for this course includes:
■ Medical personnel, such as physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, nurse assistants, dentists, physical therapists, pharmacists and students entering the field.
■ Public safety personnel and other professional responders, such as paramedics, advanced emergency medical technicians (AEMTs), emergency medical technicians (EMTs), firefighters, law enforcement, emergency medical responders (EMRs) and students entering the field.
Chapter 1: Foundational Concepts
Chapter 2: Systematic Approach to Assessing, Recognizing and Caring for Adults
Chapter 3: Basic Life Support for Adults
Chapter 4: Basic Life Support for Children and Infants
Chapter 5: Obstructed Airway
Chapter 6: Opioid Overdose
