(Advanced Life Support) Course

Resuscitation Council UK’s two-day ALS course is the perfect way to learn skills in Advanced Life Support. With over 20,000 healthcare professionals trained every year, ALS covers numerous essential skills in resuscitation, including delivery of adult CPR, recognition and management of the deteriorating patient and working in a team during emergency situations.

Our ALS qualification is recognised by the European Resuscitation Council and the Australian Resuscitation Council, giving you the freedom to use your lifesaving skills in other countries.

General information

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.

Over two days, you’ll enhance 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 utilising 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.

Curriculum map

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. 

• Acute Care Common Stem (ACCS) Curriculum

Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RECM) 2021 Curriculum 

• Speciality learning objectives 

• Clinical syllabus

Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) 2021 Curriculum

• Stage 1 domains 

• Stage 2 domains

• Stage 3 domains 

The Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine (FICM) 2021 Curriculum

• High level outcomes

Nursing and Midwifery Council

• Scope of professional practice 

• Standards of proficiency

• Annex A&B

Course structure and programme

This is a two day face-to-face course, and it 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 your course, you will be registered on our Learning Management System (LMS). Here, you can access course modules and a pre-course multiple choice question (MCQ) paper.

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:

Over the two days, 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 skills 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 practical components tested in a cardiac arrest simulation.

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.