Courses

Our programs employ advanced simulation techniques to facilitate the development of cognitive, psychomotor and interpersonal skills. We partner with departments in a focused and integrated systemwide effort to provide education and training that promotes high-quality patient care, enhances individual and team performance and improvespatient safety outcomes.

For assistance or interest in these courses, please reach out to Stanley Leaks Stanley.Leaks@PrismaHealth.org, 803-434-1268.

ACLS Prep

The Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Preparatory Course is a classroom-based, instructor-led course designed to improve electrocardiogram (ECG) recognition skills and pharmacology knowledge for treating cardiovascular emergencies. The course is highly recommended for students who are taking ACLS for the first time to ensure greater success in the 2-day ACLS course. The course contains two modules, ECG and pharmacology, which are taken together. The course length is 4 hours.

Course coverage includes:

Basic electrophysiology
Normal ECG measurements
Basic arrhythmias
Administration of appropriate drugs within the ACLS algorithms

Course details

Primary audience: The preparatory course is for healthcare professionals who participate in the management of cardiopulmonary arrest or other cardiovascular emergencies. This includes personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care and critical care units such as physicians, nurses, paramedics and others who require this specialized knowledge for their job.
Cost: Free for Prisma Health team members.

To register, please contact the Simulation Center at 803-434-6991.

Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS)

Providers will enhance their skills in treating adult victims of cardiac arrest or other cardiopulmonary emergencies. This course emphasizes the:

Importance of basic life support CPR to patient survival.
Integration of effective basic life support with ACLS interventions.
Importance of effective team interaction and communication during resuscitation.

The course includes simulated clinical scenarios that encourage active, hands-on participation through learning stations where students practice essential skills individually, as part of a team and as a team leader.

Course details

Source: View
Course format: The course is offered as a 2-day initial certification course (16 hours) and 1-day renewal course (9 hours). To qualify for a 1-day renewal course, you must have a current ACLS card or not have expired for more than 30 days.
Target audience: For healthcare providers working in emergency treatment, intensive care or critical care, and other professionals who may need to respond to a cardiovascular emergency.
Prerequisites: Although not required, BLS and a previous arrhythmia / pharmacology class are strongly recommended. The pretest for ACLS can be found online. The online password is ‘compression’.
Course location: Prisma Health-USC School of Medicine Simulation Center
Course frequency: Monthly
Continuing Education Credits: CME Only
Recertification: Every 2 years

Advanced Disaster Life Support (ADLS)

ADLS® is an advanced practicum course for the trained BDLS® provider. It is an intensive, awareness level 2-day course that allows students to demonstrate competencies in casualty decontamination, specified essential skills, and mass casualty incident information systems/technology applications. Using simulated, all-hazards scenarios and mass causality incidents, ADLS makes use of four interactive sessions in which participants treat simulated patients in various disaster drills and situations. Training is focused on the development of hands-on skills to allow participants to apply the knowledge learned in BDLS.

Course details

Source: View
Course format: This is a 2-day, 16-hour course.
Target audience: This course is designed for EMS personnel, hazardous material personnel, public health personnel, and health care providers, especially those in emergency settings.
Prerequisites: A current BDLS card is required
Course location: Prisma Health-USC School of Medicine Simulation Center
Course frequency: Annually
Continuing Education Credits: CME/Continuing education certificates
Recertification: Every 3 years

To register, please contact the Simulation Center at 803-434-6991.

Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS)

Injured patients present a wide range of complex problems. The ATLS Student Course presents a concise approach to assessing and managing multiple injured patients. The course presents doctors with knowledge and techniques that are comprehensive and easily adapted to fit their needs. The skills described in the manual represent one safe way to perform each technique, and the American College of Surgeons (ACS) recognizes that there are other acceptable approaches. However, the knowledge and skills taught in the course are easily adapted to all venues for the care of patients.

The ACS and its Committee on Trauma (COT) have developed the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) program for doctors. This program provides systemic and concise training for the early care of trauma patients. The ATLS program provides participants with a safe, reliable method for immediate management of the injured patient and the basic knowledge necessary to:

Assess the patient’s condition rapidly and accurately.
Resuscitate and stabilize the patient according to priority.
Determine if the patient’s needs exceed a facility’s capacity.
Arrange appropriately for the patient’s inter-hospital transfer (who, what, when and how).
Assure that optimum care is provided and that the level of care does not deteriorate at any point during the evaluation, resuscitation or transfer process.

Course details

Source: View
Course format: For initial certification, this is a 3-day, 24-hour course. An optional half-day refresher is available for current providers seeking recertification.
Target audience: This course is designed for doctors that will triage and treat trauma patients. Midlevel providers and nurses may audit the course.
Prerequisites: None
Course Location: Prisma Health/USC School of Medicine Simulation Center
Course Frequency: Annually
Continuing Education Credits: CME Only
Recertification: Every 4 years

To register, please contact Prisma Health Richland Hospital Trauma Center at 803-434-6256.

Basic Disaster Life Support (BDLS)

BDLS provides a common approach and language for managing disasters through an all-hazards curriculum. The curriculum focuses on applying the DISASTER paradigm to any disaster scene. Providers will learn how to apply the DISASTER paradigm and MASS Triage™ to chemical, biological, nuclear, radiological, explosive and natural events.

Course details

Source: View
Course format: This is a 1-day, 8-hour course.
Target audience: This course is designed for EMS personnel, hazardous material personnel, public health personnel and healthcare providers, especially those in emergency settings.
Prerequisites: None
Course location: Prisma Health-USC School of Medicine Simulation Center
Course frequency: At least quarterly
Continuing Education Credits: CME/Continuing education certificates
Recertification: Every 3 years

To register, please contact the Simulation Center at 803-434-6991.

Basic Life Support (BLS)

The Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers Classroom Course is designed to provide a wide variety of healthcare professionals the ability to recognize several life-threatening emergencies, provide CPR, use an AED and relieve choking in a safe, timely and effective manner.

Course details

Source: View
Course format: This is a 1-day, 4-hour course.
Target audience: For healthcare providers working in emergency treatment, intensive care or critical care, and other healthcare professionals who may need to respond to a cardiovascular emergency.
Prerequisites: None
Course location: Prisma Health-USC School of Medicine Simulation Center Annex (14 Medical Park, Suite 300) or on-demand with one of our affiliated instructors.
Course frequency: Weekly
Continuing Education Credits: None
Recertification: Every 2 years

To register, please contact Prisma Health CareCall at 803-296-CARE (2273).

Emergency Neuro Life Support (ENLS)

Emergency Nurse Pediatric Course (ENPC)

First Five

This course combines didactic lecture and simulation to prepare non-critical care providers to respond to urgent and emergent patient conditions.

Course details

Course format: This is a 4-hour course
Target audience: Acute care healthcare providers working in non-emergent settings
Prerequisites: BLS
Course location: Prisma Health-USC School of Medicine Simulation Center
Course frequency: Monthly
Continuing Education Credits: Nursing CE credits
Recertification: Required, recommended every 6-12 months

To register, Prisma Health team members should contact their educator. All others, please contact the Simulation Center at 803-434-6991.

Fundamentals of Critical Care Support (FCCS)

A comprehensive course addressing fundamental management principles for the first 24 hours of critical care.

Course Purpose

To better prepare the non-intensivist for the first 24 hours of management of the critically ill patient until transfer or appropriate critical care consultation can be arranged. To assist the non-intensivist in dealing with sudden deterioration of the critically ill patient.
To prepare house staff for ICU coverage.
To prepare nurses and other critical care practitioners to deal with acute deterioration in the critically ill patient.

Course details

Source: View
Course format: This is a 2-day, 16-hour course.
Target audience: Residents from various specialties including surgery, emergency medicine, family medicine, and internal medicine; other healthcare providers working in critical care
Prerequisites: None
Course location: Prisma Health/USC School of Medicine Simulation Center
Course frequency: 2-3 times per year
Continuing Education Credits: 13.5
Recertification: None

To register, please contact the Simulation Center at 803-434-6991.

Heartsaver® CPR AED

Heartsaver CPR AED is a classroom, video-based, instructor-led course that teaches adult CPR and AED use, as well as how to relieve choking in an adult. This course teaches skills with AHA’s research-proven Practice-While-Watching (PWW) technique, which allows instructors to observe the students, provide feedback and guide the students’ learning of skills.

Course details

Source: View
Course format: This is a 1-day, 4-hour course.
Target audience: This course is for anyone with limited or no medical training who would like to learn how to be a proficient first responder in CPR and AED use until additional emergency services help arrives.
Prerequisites: None
Course location: Prisma Health-USC School of Medicine Simulation Center Annex (14 Medical Park, Suite 300) or on-demand with one of our affiliated instructors.
Course frequency: Monthly
Continuing Education Credits: None
Recertification: 2 years

To register, please contact Prisma Health CareCall at 803-296-CARE (2273).

Heartsaver® First Aid

Heartsaver First Aid is a classroom, video-based, instructor-led course that teaches students critical skills to respond to and manage an emergency in the first few minutes until emergency medical services (EMS) arrive. Students learn skills such as how to treat bleeding, sprains, fractures, shock and other first aid emergencies.

Course details

Source: View
Course format: This is a 1-day, 6-hour course.
Target audience: This course is for anyone with limited or no medical training who would like to learn how to be a proficient first responder until additional emergency services help arrives.
Prerequisites: None
Course location: Prisma Health-USC School of Medicine Simulation Center Annex (14 Medical Park Suite 300) or on-demand with one of our affiliated instructors
Course frequency: Monthly
Continuing Education Credits: None
Recertification: 2 years

To register, please contact Prisma Health CareCall at 803-296-CARE (2273).

Heartsaver® Pediatric First Aid CPR AED

This course is designed to meet the regulatory and credentialed training requirements for child care workers in all 50 states. This course teaches basic first aid, CPR, and AED skills for children such as:

What to do when a child or infant has a breathing problem.
Giving compressions and breaths to an infant or child.
Stopping bleeding that can be seen.

Course details

Course format: This is a 1-day, 5-hour course.
Target audience: This course is for anyone with limited or no medical training who would like to learn how to be a proficient first responder in first aid use until additional emergency services help arrives.
Prerequisites: None
Course location: On-demand with one of our affiliated instructors
Course frequency: On-demand with one of our affiliated instructors
Continuing Education Credits: None
Recertification: 2 years

To register, please contact Prisma Health CareCall at 803-296-CARE (2273).

Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP)

This course has been designed to teach an evidence-based approach to resuscitation of the newborn. The causes, prevention, and management of mild to severe neonatal asphyxia are carefully explained so that health professionals may develop optimal knowledge and skill in resuscitation.

Source: View
Course format: This is a 1-day, 8-hour course
Target sudience: Health care professionals that respond to neonatal arrest situations
Prerequisites: None
Course location: Prisma Health-USC School of Medicine Simulation Center
Course frequency: As scheduled by NRP Instructor; not offered on a rotating basis
Continuing Education Credits: None
Recertification: Every 2 years

To register, please contact Prisma Health Richland Hospital Perinatal Systems at 803-434-2912.

Pediatric Advanced Life Support Course (PALS)

The PALS course gives health care professionals the knowledge and skills to better recognize and treat critically ill infants and children. The course uses a scenario-based, team approach to teach pediatric emergency management of patients approaching or already in respiratory or cardiac arrest. The course covers treatment beyond the first few minutes and covers stabilization and transport phases of a pediatric emergency, in or out of the hospital.

Course details

Course format: The course is offered as a 2-day initial certification course (12 hours) and 1-day renewal course (7.5 hours). To qualify for a 1-day renewal course, you must have a current PALS card or not have expired more than 30 days prior.
Target audience: For health care providers working in emergency treatment or critical care, and other professionals who may need to respond to a pediatric emergency
Prerequisites: Although not required, BLS and a previous arrhythmia / pharmacology class are strongly recommended.
Course location: Prisma Health/USC School of Medicine Simulation Center
Course frequency: Monthly
Continuing Education Credits: CME Only
Recertification: Every 2 years

Prisma Health Acute Stroke Education (PHASE)

Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC)

The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) developed and implemented the TNCC for national and international dissemination as a means of identifying a standardized body of trauma nursing knowledge. The TNCC (Provider) is a 16 or 20-hour course designed to provide the learner with cognitive knowledge and psychomotor skills. Nurses with limited emergency nursing clinical experience, who work in a hospital with limited access to trauma patients, or who need greater time at the psychomotor skill stations are encouraged to attend courses scheduled for the 20-hour format. The TNCC (Instructor) course is an 8-hour course designed to prepare nurses to become TNCC (Provider) Instructors. The nurse must have successfully completed the provider course prior to attending the Instructor course. The Instructor course emphasizes appropriate teaching strategies as well as correct evaluation methods.

Course details

Course format: This is a 2-day 15-hour course.
Target audience: Critical care nurses
Prerequisites: None
Course location: Prisma Health/USC School of Medicine Simulation Center
Course frequency: As Needed
Continuing Education Credits: None
Recertification: None

To register, please contact Prisma Health Richland Hospital Trauma Center at 803-434-6256.