Course Purpose
The American Red Cross Basic Life Support (BLS) course provides participants with the knowledge and skills they need to assess, recognize and care for patients who are experiencing respiratory arrest, cardiac arrest, airway obstruction or opioid overdose. When a patient experiences a lifethreatening emergency, healthcare providers need to act swiftly and promptly. The course emphasizes providing high-quality care and integrating psychomotor skills with critical thinking and problem solving to achieve the best possible patient outcomes
Course Prerequisites
None
Learning Objectives
- Apply concepts of effective teamwork when caring for a patient experiencing a life-threatening emergency.
- Integrate communication, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills during a high-performance BLS team response.
- Apply a systematic, continuous approach to assess, recognize and care for adults, children and infants experiencing a life-threatening emergency.
- Perform a rapid assessment for responsive and unresponsive adults, children and infants.
- Effectively care for adults, children and infants in respiratory arrest.
- State the principles of high-quality CPR for adults, children and infants.
- Identify BLS differences among adults, children and infants.
- Provide high-quality chest compressions for adults, children and infants.
- Deliver effective ventilations to adults, children and infants using a pocket mask and bag-valvemask (BVM) resuscitator.
- Demonstrate effective use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) for adults, children and infants.
- Provide high-quality BLS care for adults, children and infants in single- and multiple-provider situations.
- Deliver effective abdominal thrusts, back blows and chest thrusts for adults, children and infants with airway obstruction.
- State the principles of care for a patient experiencing an opioid overdose.
Course Options and Lengths
BLS is available through two different delivery formats: Instructor-Led (Classroom) and Blended
Learning. Abbreviated versions of the instructor-led course are available with the Review course and Challenge options. A table including estimated lengths of the various BLS course options is provided below.
| Course Name | Course Code and
Version |
Delivery Format | Length (H:MM) |
| Basic Life Support | HSSBLS101-r.21 | Instructor-Led | 4:30 |
| HSSBLS101-r.21-BL | Blended Learning | Online: 1:30 (varies)
In-Person: 2:35 |
|
| Basic Life Support
Review |
HSSBLS101R-r.21 | Instructor-Led | 2:05 |
| Blended Learning | Varies | ||
| Basic Life Support
Challenge |
HSSBLS101C-r.21 | Instructor-Led | Varies |
Instructor
Instructors must hold a Basic Life Support instructor certificate in order to teach BLS. Specific information on eligibility and instructions on how to receive a BLS Instructor certification can be found on the Red Cross Learning Center.
Certification
Participants who successfully complete the BLS course will be issued a Basic Life Support certification that is valid for two years.
Participant’s Manual
The Basic Life Support Participant’s Manual includes essential emergency care components for all age groups (adult, child, infant) including:
- Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Communication and Teamwork
- Systematic Approach to Assessing, Recognizing and Caring for Adults
- Basic Life Support for Adults
- Basic Life Support for Children and Infants
- Obstructed Airway
- Opioid Overdose
The Basic Life Support Participant’s Manual may be downloaded for free from the Red Cross Learning Center (http://www.redcrosslearningcenter.org) or purchased from the Red Cross Store (www.redcross.org/store).
