How to Prepare for Your ACLS Course in Abu Dhabi

Who the ACLS course is for

Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) is the American Heart Association course for healthcare professionals who lead or take part in the management of cardiac arrest, stroke and other cardiopulmonary emergencies. In practice that means physicians, nurses in emergency, critical care and theatres, paramedics and anaesthesia staff, plus anyone whose job requires an ACLS provider card.

At Safety First Medical Services the classroom course runs over two days at our training centre on Al Reem Island. It follows the 2025 AHA Guidelines for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care and finishes with a theory exam and a skills test. The same course renews a card that is close to expiry.

Start with your BLS skills

ACLS assumes you can already deliver high-quality CPR without thinking about it. Every case on the course starts from a basic life support foundation, and instructors notice straight away when compressions are too shallow, too slow or interrupted for too long.

If your BLS card is out of date or your last resuscitation was a while ago, sort that out first. Our BLS course in Abu Dhabi is the quickest way back to confident compressions, and BLS vs ACLS explains how the two courses fit together.

What good CPR looks like on the day

• Compressions at 100 to 120 a minute.
• A depth of at least 5 cm for an adult, with full chest recoil between compressions.
• Pauses kept as short as possible, particularly around defibrillation.
• Breaths that make the chest rise, without over-ventilating.

Learn the rhythms before you arrive

Rhythm recognition is where most candidates lose time. You don’t need to be a cardiologist, but you do need to identify the rhythms that decide each branch of the algorithms quickly and without second-guessing yourself.

• Shockable: ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia.
• Non-shockable: asystole and pulseless electrical activity.
• Too slow: sinus bradycardia and the heart blocks.
• Too fast: narrow and wide complex tachycardias, stable and unstable.

Practise little and often. Fifteen minutes a day with rhythm strips for a week beats a long session the night before.

Know the algorithms and the medications

The course is built around the AHA algorithms: adult cardiac arrest, bradycardia with a pulse, tachycardia with a pulse, post-cardiac arrest care, acute coronary syndromes and stroke. Read each one until you can talk it through out loud. The aim is to know what comes next, not to recite the page.

For medications, focus on when each drug is used and where it sits in the algorithm. Epinephrine and amiodarone in cardiac arrest, atropine for symptomatic bradycardia and adenosine for a stable regular narrow complex tachycardia come up again and again.

What the megacode tests

The megacode is a simulated cardiac arrest in which you act as team leader. The instructor watches whether you assign roles clearly, keep compressions going, recognise rhythm changes, choose the right intervention at the right time and use closed-loop communication with your team.

Candidates often worry about forgetting a drug. In reality instructors are looking for a systematic approach. Say what you see, say what you want done, confirm it was done and move to the next step. If you lose your place, go back to the algorithm and check the rhythm.

Practical tips for the two days

• Complete the pre-course self-assessment before day one so you know where your gaps are.
• Keep both days clear. Arriving straight from a night shift makes everything harder.
• Wear comfortable clothes. You’ll be kneeling at manikins and moving between stations.
• Ask questions early. Instructors would much rather clear up a doubt on the first morning than during the megacode.
• Have your current BLS card to hand in case you’re asked for it.

After the course

Candidates who pass the theory exam and the skills test receive an AHA ACLS provider card, valid for two years. Put the renewal date in your calendar with a few months’ notice, because credentialing teams often ask for a current card well before it expires.

You can see upcoming dates on the training calendar or book a seat with the form below.