Anaesthesiology - MBChBVI - Advanced life support course

All trainee interns are required to complete a course in resuscitation in accordance with the New Zealand Medical Council standards. The council then requires probationers and other junior medical staff to re-certify advanced life support skills annually.

The Department of Anaesthesiology provides this training for students during their trainee intern year.

The course is held 12 times a year over 2 days at the Simulation Centre for Patient Safety, Ground Floor, Building 721, Tāmaki Innovation Campus, corner of Morrin & Merton Road, St Johns

The Trainee Intern Advanced Life Support Course is a skill and simulation based course designed to prepare interns the necessary skills to provide Advanced Life Support (ALS).

Day one of the course covers elementary resuscitation skills. The skill teaching stations will develop resuscitation skills already acquired during the third year and the fourth year. 

The skills taught on this course include:

Basic life support

• Adult C.P.R
• Automated external defibrillation (AED)
• Use of bag-valve-mask device
• Use of oro-pharyngeal airways
• Use of suction apparatus 

Electrical therapy

• Defibrillation
• Synchronised cardioversion
• Transcutaneous pacing (T.C.P)

Advanced airway management

• Use of oxygen delivery devices
• Laryngeal mask insertion
• Endotracheal intubation demonstration

Arrhythmia recognition & management including electrical therapy (Hands-on practice)

• Tachy-arrhythmias
• Brady- arrhythmias

Intraosseous needle insertion (Hands-on Practice)

On day two, simulation of common emergencies will be presented and the trainee interns will be joined by third year nurses in an interprofessional learning experience. The objective of this day is to introduce the trainee intern and the third year nurses to concepts of team management and clinical management of an emergency situation. Skills taught on day one will also be assessed.

The simulations covered will include:

• Acute Coronary Syndromes
• Respiratory arrest
• Tachyarrhythmia
• Bradarrhythmia
• Trauma
• Cardiac arrest
• Paediatric emergencies

Assessment of the resuscitation skills are conducted in line with the New Zealand Resuscitation Council recommendation. Feedback on students’ performance during the simulation is also provided at the end of each session.

• Cyber ACLS Course
• ERC Advanced Life Support Course (ALS) manual
• New Zealand Resuscitation Council book
• New Zealand Resuscitation Council
• Australian Resuscitation Council