What Is a BLS Certification? Overview and FAQ
Did you know that life-saving measures like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have been around since the 1700s? Back then, Swiss physicians used fireplace bellows to push air into patients’ lungs. Today, basic life support (BLS) protocols are the culmination of sophisticated data-gathering and research. But what is a BLS certification? In nursing, this training helps you know what to do if a patient stops breathing, loses a pulse, or has an obstruction in their airway.
Nearly every patient-facing role in acute care and post-acute settings requires BLS training, and you may need to get certified before you begin nursing school. Settings that typically require BLS certification include:
- Ambulatory care
- Correctional facilities
- Emergency departments
- Inpatient units
- Operating rooms
- Psychiatric hospitals
- Surgical centers
- Urgent care clinics
And it’s no wonder that this training is required — research shows that after nurses received formal life-support training, patient survival from cardiac arrests jumped from 28% to 53%. Read on to learn about this important certification.
What Is a BLS Certificate?
A basic life support certification shows that you’ve completed training to support patients who are not breathing, have lost a pulse, or are choking. This required training is offered across the nation by institutions like the American Heart Association (AHA). Being BLS certified by the AHA shows that you’ve had training in these elements:
- Giving high-quality CPR to infants, children, and adults
- Implementing the AHA Chain of Survival
- Operating an automatic external defibrillator (AED)
- Giving ventilations using an oral barrier device or ambu-bag
- Using teamwork in multi-rescue CPR
- Responding to foreign-body airway obstruction (choking) in adults and children
If this is your first time becoming BLS certified, you’ll have two options for taking the course — a blend of classroom and online learning, or a completely in-person class. Much of BLS is physical skills, such as giving CPR and ventilation. Your certification expires every two years, and to renew, you’ll need to do a review and a skills check-off to show you’re still proficient.
The Five Steps of BLS
The five steps are a structured workflow for assessing the patient and situation and giving life-saving interventions. You’ll learn more about the five steps in a BLS class, but here’s a brief overview:
- Ensure the scene is safe.
- Check responsiveness, and if the patient does not respond, call for help.
- Assess breathing and pulse.
- In the case of abnormal or absent breathing, give rescue breaths.
- In the case of absent breathing and pulse, begin giving CPR.
BLS Certification: Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get a BLS certification?
Most classes take just half a day. The AHA’s BLS provider course takes four and a half hours, and renewals take three hours. Typically, courses include a didactic component, a physical skills practice, then a written exam and a skills check-off.
What is the BLS certification exam like?
These exams include 25 test questions and are generally open-book. You’ll get an hour to complete the exam and need to earn a minimum grade of 84% to pass.
Does a BLS certification cover child and infant CPR?
Yes, a BLS course covers protocols for infants and children. If you’re a nurse looking for more specialized courses for emergency pediatric care, check out a pediatric advanced life support (PALS) course. This includes basic life support interventions, as well as advanced medications and interventions for saving pediatric lives.
What is a BLS certification compared to CPR?
BLS is a more comprehensive course than CPR, and contains CPR training with additional skills. CPR courses are taught to laypeople who want to learn basic lifesaving skills, while BLS is typically taught to medical staff, police, firefighters, and first responders.
What is a BLS certification compared to ACLS?
ACLS stands for advanced cardiac life support. Both certifications are for healthcare professionals, but ACLS contains more advanced skills, medications, and protocols. Nurses in intermediate settings will be BLS certified, while nurses in critical care receive ACLS as well.
If a patient codes on the floor, staff need to respond and treat them quickly with BLS protocols to transfer them to the ICU. When a patient codes in the ICU, they’re there to stay, so these nurses need more advanced life-saving skills covered by ACLS.
Where can you get a BLS certification?
The leading organizations offering BLS training today are the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Red Cross. Your facility will likely have a preference between the two — for example, AHA BLS is preferred by many schools and hospitals.
In most areas, you’ll likely be able to find a BLS class at a local community college, hospital, or other teaching facility. Some organizations offer free BLS certification or BLS certification online, but be sure that your facility will accept your certification before you enroll in these options.
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