Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS)

Cardiac arrest is a time-critical medical emergency in which rapid recognition, high-quality CPR, appropriate rhythm management, effective team communication and coordinated resuscitation can significantly influence patient outcomes.

This comprehensive Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) simulation-based course is designed for undergraduate medical students to develop the knowledge, practical skills and teamwork required to respond systematically to adult cardiac arrest and other life-threatening cardiovascular emergencies.

Rather than relying only on theoretical learning, the course uses simulation, hands-on practice, realistic emergency scenarios, structured debriefing and competency-based assessment. Students progressively move from understanding the cardiac arrest algorithm to performing and integrating essential interventions as part of a resuscitation team.

What Will You Learn?

By completing this course, students will be able to:

1. Recognise Adult Cardiac Arrest

Students will learn to rapidly identify:

• Unresponsiveness
• Absent or abnormal breathing
• Cardiac arrest requiring immediate intervention
• The need to activate the emergency response system

They will practise initiating resuscitation without unnecessary delays.

2. Perform High-Quality CPR

Students will practise the essential components of effective adult CPR, including:

• Correct hand positioning
• Appropriate compression rate and depth
• Complete chest recoil
• Minimising interruptions
• Effective compressor rotation
• Coordination between chest compressions and ventilation
• Use of CPR feedback from a simulation manikin

3. Recognise Cardiac Arrest Rhythms

Students will learn to distinguish between:

Shockable rhythms

• Ventricular fibrillation (VF)
• Pulseless ventricular tachycardia (pVT)

Non-shockable rhythms

• Asystole
• Pulseless electrical activity (PEA)

The emphasis is on recognising the rhythm and connecting it to the appropriate resuscitation pathway.

4. Develop Defibrillation Skills

Through simulation, students will practise:

• Preparing the defibrillator
• Appropriate pad placement
• Rhythm assessment
• Identifying when defibrillation is indicated
• Maintaining team safety
• Verbalising “clear” before simulated shock delivery
• Resuming CPR promptly after shock delivery

No real electrical shocks are delivered during training.

5. Understand Airway and Ventilation

Students will practise basic resuscitation airway and ventilation skills, including:

• Airway positioning
• Bag-mask ventilation
• Mask seal
• Effective ventilation
• Avoiding excessive ventilation
• Coordination between ventilation and chest compressions

6. Understand ACLS Interventions

Students will develop an understanding of the role of:

• Resuscitation medications
• IV/IO access concepts
• Rhythm reassessment
• Defibrillation
• Continued CPR
• Airway and ventilation management
• Identification and treatment of reversible causes

Medication doses and treatment sequences should be taught according to the current applicable resuscitation guideline and institutional protocol.

7. Identify Reversible Causes

Students will be introduced to the 5 Hs and 5 Ts framework and learn how potentially reversible causes should be considered during cardiac arrest management.

The course encourages students to ask:

“Why did this patient arrest, and what reversible cause can we identify and treat?”

8. Recognise ROSC

Students will learn to recognise return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and understand that resuscitation does not end when circulation returns.

They will practise the transition from cardiac arrest management to:

• Reassessment
• Airway and breathing support
• Circulatory assessment
• Monitoring
• Stabilisation
• Post-cardiac-arrest care
• Appropriate escalation and transfer

Simulation-Based Learning

The course uses realistic simulation scenarios to transform theoretical knowledge into practical performance.

Students participate in scenarios such as:

Scenario 1 – Shockable Cardiac Arrest

An adult patient collapses and is found to be in ventricular fibrillation/pulseless ventricular tachycardia.

Students must:

• Recognise cardiac arrest
• Start CPR
• Attach the monitor/defibrillator
• Identify the rhythm
• Prepare for simulated defibrillation
• Maintain CPR
• Communicate effectively
• Continue algorithm-based management

Scenario 2 – Non-Shockable Cardiac Arrest

Students manage a simulated patient with:

• PEA or
• Asystole

The scenario emphasises:

• High-quality CPR
• Correct rhythm classification
• Avoiding inappropriate defibrillation
• Algorithm-based management
• Identification of reversible causes

Scenario 3 – ROSC and Post-Arrest Care

Students are challenged to recognise simulated ROSC and transition appropriately from cardiac arrest management to post-arrest priorities.

This helps prevent a common learning problem: continuing the cardiac-arrest sequence without recognising that the patient's clinical status has changed.

Deliberate Skills Practice

The course follows a practical learning cycle:

Demonstration → Practice → Feedback → Correction → Repetition → Assessment

Students receive immediate instructor feedback on:

• CPR quality
• Rhythm recognition
• Defibrillator safety
• Airway and ventilation
• Team communication
• Leadership
• Algorithm application
• Patient safety

This approach allows students to correct errors before the final competency assessment.