Medical, Nursing, Dental, EMT, Radiographers, Phlebotomy, EKG, EEG, CNA, and MA students: when seeking American Heart Association (AHA) two-year certification in BLS (basic life support) will greatly benefit from taking an initial, and renewal certifications in a group environment with an Instructor-led class.
Learning to deliver high-quality compressions are critical for the survival of a person in cardiac arrest. We practice the life-saving skills of CPR and AED, with minimal interruptions in compressions, and with an emphasis on communication skills with a partner. Have a question? All of your questions will be answered, and you will leave with far more confidence in an instructor-led class, than by yourself at a business offering a VAM (Voice Assisted Manikin).
A VAM is a manikin connected to a computer that a person has to demonstrate skills for in a room all by themselves. There are no AHA instructors available to help or answer questions, but a customer service agent may be able to help you over the phone. VAM are testing stations designed as a check-off for BLS certification for people who are already proficient with BLS and CPR. There is no practice, but rather just limited feedback from the computer for you to either pass or fail. There are no VAM at Revive CPR in San Francisco.
There are many limitations when practicing without an instructor giving feedback. Ventilation practice with a Bag Valve Mask in an instructor led clsss will be more beneficial than with a VAM.
There have been many malfunctions and complaints from these Voice Assisted Manikins reported in Yelp reviews, and even if you are a seasoned medical professional you still might not pass. We certify several people every week who did not pass down the street at our competitor and they were not given a refund. We feel really bad that people leave with the experience of failing.
Failing is not an option at Revive CPR Training, as long as you don’t have an injury preventing you from doing compressions we will ensure that you will get enough practice to pass every time. However, we do not just hand-out certificates you will proudly earn your BLS certification with us. People leave our classes with enthusiasm unlike those coming from a VAM testing location who are often frustrated.
A study in Australia recently published that feedback manikins are more beneficial for practicing compressions than with an instructor who can provide specific, real– time feedback. is this statement true?
The study below claims to be a randomized trial, however, all of the participants were medical students, and documentation of the experience level of the Instructor for the BLS class is not included.
It’s likely that test subjects enrolled in a BLS class where the instructor lacked experience and failed to provide constructive feedback. If students were enrolled in such a class, they would undoubtedly report a negative learning experience. This study is flawed unless the instructor’s performance was assessed objectively and participants had the opportunity to learn from an experienced instructor as well.
Feedback devices, such as a voice assisted manikin are not AI technology, and lack cameras that can detect when people are bending their arms, and/or, leaning back. The computer can only repeat very limited commands when the proper compression depth is not achieved.
Voice Assisted Manikins have not yet been studied by The American Heart Association comparing them to Instructor– led classes, therefore, we believe the results found in Australia should not be considered valid in the United States.
the results of this study are published in the link below. If you take the time to read the study, then you will notice the inaccuracies of the data.
Instructor- led CPR classes place more emphasis on education and actually saving people’s lives in the real world. Healthcare professionals prefer live classes vs. a VAM all by themself.
The truth is that people only tolerate a VAM they don’t prefer it over a live class at all! AHA required student surveys that are emailed before certifications are sent will show VAM has an approval rating that is far below the minimum benchmark of an 85% approval rating for AHA Training Sites, whereas, Revive CPR has a satisfaction rating far above this benchmark.
You will leave our BLS class with the confidence to save a persons life that same day, and Your skills will be superior to anyone taking their BLS certification with a business offering VAM’s. Practicing with a VAM will only at best improve your CPR compression skills.
Yet someday you just might have fun banging away compressions with a VAM, which is utilized in hospitals and often referred to as an RQI program.
RQI (Resuscitative Quality Improvement).
The difference between VAM in a business VS VAM in hospitals, known as RQI.
RQI is a term for hospital programs utilizing voice assisted manikins to refresh healthcare professionals compression skills either quarterly, or every six months. This program provides everyone a way to keep their certification current for many years. This program really lives up to its name of quality improvement . Hospitals have a department available for anyone who needs help or has a question, which is a huge difference from training alone with a VAM at a business.
Sadly, there isn’t quality assurance with a business certifying people only once every two years without support, yet they promote the term RQI on their website.
So, VAM is a low cost , effective way for hospitals to provide health care providers the ability to improve their compression skills frequently, however, this is is an ineffective way for medical professionals to receive an initial BLS certification, or even for their first few, renewals. This VAM device was never intended to be utilized by students for their initial AHA BLS certification, and there is a high probability that the American Heart Association will soon place a restriction for the use of (out of hospital) VAM devices in remote, unstaffed locations, for renewal certifications only.
After you have been certified in an Instructor-led live class two or three times before, then there is a great benefit to working with a VAM when you are employed at a hospital, as there will be a department that can help you when you have questions.
Medical, Dental, Nursing, EMT, and students in all other medical areas, We encourage you to Use our Promo code Revive25 and receive an $8 discount on our in person BLS skills session.
We hope to see you soon at our AHA training center in San Francisco www.revivecpr.com
Please see below for important information on reduced classroom times from three hours down to a one hour Instructor- led skills session.
New hybrid courses are completed half online and half in person:
Part one-completed online at your home, or office at your own pace (45 minutes- two hours).
Part two – completed with an AHA instructor- led BLS skills session (one hour).
This new blended learning format minimizes your time in the classroom, so your attention is focused more on saving lives than on the clock.
Roy Gordon, AHA,CPR instructor/ EMT
Revive CPR 148 Townsend St, San Francisco, CA 94107
several studies comparing the two methods
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7952489
