The stupidification of ACLS.

[Tom B.]

I was not talking about ACLS-EP. Also, it's about time (well past actually) that paramedic programmmes quit using ACLS as a standard educational tool. AHA develops guidelines based on a review of the science. The onus for good pre-hospital education sits squarely on our shoulders not AHA.

The AHA develops guidelines based on the evidence but it also produces educational materials. Many top performing EMS systems have eliminated the requirement of maintaining an ACLS certification because the video-driven ACLS course is so awful. We could talk all day about how the "onus is squarely on our shoulders" but the reality is that ACLS is a required certification for the vast majority of paramedics in the country but it no longer serves our needs. Perhaps you think that every EMS system should invent its own wheel but I'd rather see a thoughtful ACLS course be created by the AHA for EMS professionals. It's an opinion I've voiced to the Public Safety Team of the AHA and they seem interested in correcting this problem. I hope they do.

[hatelilpeepees]

I have to agree with chbare on this one. This is why we have so much government intervention in our lives, because employers/employees are too lazy to do the right thing on their own. I can not imagine how horrible hospitals would be if it were not for the JCAHO boogie man. I guess we need to get the Federal Government to declare that every ambulance service must gain CAAS accreditation to collect Medicare payments, otherwise we will never improve.