When comparing ACLS vs BLS certifications, there’s one important thing to keep in mind: both courses are accredited. The American Nurses Credentialing Center, American Medical Association, and other leading medical organizations accept both types of certification.

What’s more, you don’t necessarily have to pick between the ACLS vs BLS. You could get both certificates. However, you most likely don’t have the time to pursue both courses at the same time. Furthermore, you probably don’t need both certificates for your job. That means you’ll need to pick the course that best suits your needs.

Neither course is inherently better than the other. However, one course will likely be a better fit for your situation than the other. Thus, choosing which program to enroll in comes to comparing the course details of the ACLS vs BLS to see which forms of training you need.

What is BLS Certification?

BLS stands for Basic Life Support. The Red Cross describes it as a “set of life-saving procedures performed during sudden cardiac arrest.” What you learn during a BLS class will increase your chances of keeping someone alive until qualified medical help arrives. Here are some skills you’ll learn from a BLS certification course:

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). You’ll learn how to perform chest Compressions on adults, children, and infants. You’ll also learn how to do CPR on your own and with another person.
How to manage obstructions in the airway. You’ll learn how to recognize signs that someone is choking, perform the Heimlich maneuver, and give back blows and chest thrusts. You’ll also learn important differences in treatment options for adults, children, and infants.
How to give rescue breaths. This includes giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to adults and children as well as mouth-to-nose resuscitation for infants. You’ll also learn how to provide bag mask ventilation for adults and the proper way to give an oxygen mask to a child or infant.
How to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) on adults, children, and infants. This includes learning about an AED’s safety features.

Who Should Get BLS Training?

BLS training isn’t only for medical professionals. Over thirty states require high school students to receive CPR training before graduation. A BLS course is ideal for any young person who needs to learn this important skill.

Even young people in states that don’t require CPR training for high school graduates should seriously consider the benefits of learning CPR. As Dr. Comilla Sasson, MD, PhD., recently explained, “bystander CPR can double or even triple someone’s chances of survival.”

What’s more, according to Cornell University, BLS training can improve your job prospects. It’s beneficial in almost every work environment. What’s more, getting BLS certification shows that you have valuable soft skills such as initiative, willingness to learn new things, and an interest in self-development.

At the same time, BLS training also offers the high-level training that medical professionals need to save lives. It’s ideal for:

Healthcare professionals who work in a home setting, including nursing assistants, personal care aides, and home health aides
Healthcare professionals who work outside a medical care facility; i.e., school nurses and pharmacists
EMTs, police officers, and firefighters. BLS training teaches you how to act fast during health emergencies that occur outside a healthcare facility. Thus, it’s not surprising it’s a required training course for first responders.
Dentists and dental hygienists. Almost all state licensing boards require people in these professions to obtain either CPR or BLS training.

Other professions that may require BLS certification include:

Lifeguards. According to the United States Lifesaving Association, lifeguards performed over 64,500 rescues in 2023 alone. BLS training in such a setting can spell the difference between saving a life and losing one.
Flight attendants. There may be a medical professional on board, but you can’t always count on it. Knowing how to stabilize a passenger’s life while in the air can significantly increase that person’s chance of survival.
Childcare provider. According to the Red Cross, childcare licensing agencies may require you to receive training before obtaining a license. State laws vary but a BLS license will in most cases help you meet or even exceed minimal training requirements.

What is ACLS Certification?

ACLS stands for Advanced Cardiac Life Support. Sometimes this course is referred to as ALS, or Advanced Life Support. An ACLS/ALS certification course is more advanced than a BLS course. It teaches the following skills:

Heart anatomy and physiology. This enables you to identify the best form of care for each patient.
Advanced airway management. You’ll learn how to manage advanced equipment, the use of basic airways, and how to perform suctioning. Once you master these skills, you’ll progress to advanced airway techniques such as the endotracheal tube, laryngeal mask airway, and esophageal-tracheal tube.
IV access and intraosseous access.
How to administer appropriate medication. You’ll learn how to identify the right medications based on a patient’s symptoms. You’ll also learn how to use common drugs and how to choose an appropriate medication dose for adult patients.
Electrical therapies such as defibrillation, cardioversion, and transcutaneous pacing
How to recognize and deal with stroke symptoms

Who Should Get ALS/ACLS Certification?

ALS/ACLS certification is a requirement for medical professionals such as:

Doctors
Nurses
Anesthesiologists
Respiratory therapists
Paramedics who already have BLS training but want to further their skills
Dentists

In short, if you work at a hospital or clinic or are planning a long-term career in healthcare, you’ll want ALS/ACLS certification.

Duration Comparison: ACLS vs. BLS Course

Save a Life by NHCPS estimates that it will take you about 4 hours to complete a BLS training course or 8 hours to complete an ALS/ACLS course. However, it’s important to realize that completion time can vary depending on many factors, including:

How you study. An online-only course will likely take less time to complete than a course with in-person training requirements.
Your level of familiarity with basic life-saving techniques. If you’ve never received medical training before, it may take you some time to understand the concepts presented in the course. You may need to review information to familiarize yourself with important concepts and to prepare for the certification exam.

ACLS vs BLS: What about recertification?

There’s no need to compare ACLS vs BLS recertification requirements because they’re the same. Both forms of certification are valid for two years. You’ll need to get recertified before your current certification expires if certification is a job requirement.

There are two reasons why recertification isn’t optional. One is that medical technology is continually improving. Recertification enables you to stay up-to-date with current trends and technologies. This improves your ability to save lives.

Another reason for periodic recertification is that you can’t afford to forget the life-saving skills you learned when you first took your course. Granted, there’s probably no chance you’d ever forget your training if you use it on a very regular basis. However, not all medical professionals use their BLS/ACLS training regularly.

For example, maybe you work as a school nurse, and you’ve never had to perform CPR in the last two years. Maybe you have only had to clear a blocked airway once or twice as a dental hygienist. It’s easy to allow yourself to get rusty if you don’t practice, but the end result can be deadly. Recertification keeps your skills fresh, so you’re ready and able to provide assistance if an emergency happens.

Where and how can I complete a BLS or ALS/ACLS course?

There are three options for completing a BLS or ALS/ACLS course:

Study online. Online courses are ideal if you are working full-time or juggling a busy study schedule.
Hybrid course. A hybrid course includes online and in-person components. It’s more time-consuming than an online-only course, especially if you have to travel a long way for the in-person component. However, if you aren’t comfortable mastering the course components without in-person assistance and can’t attend an in-person course, a hybrid course could be ideal for you.
In-person course. In-person courses will likely take more time than either online or hybrid courses. However, they enable you to interact with an experienced professional, ask questions, and practice your skills (most likely on a dummy).

What about other course options?

The ACLS vs BLS isn’t the only comparison worth making. There are also the PALS and CPR courses. However, unlike the BLS and ACLS, these courses offer limited training.

PALS stands for pediatric advanced life support. It’s ideal for anyone who works with kids. Even doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals who have ACLS certification can benefit from taking the PALS course if they work with kids regularly. However, the PALS course can’t replace the ACLS course if you work in a medical setting. What’s more, it’s not a course for beginners. You’ll need to take the BLS course first to master the skills in the PALS course material.

The CPR course only teaches cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It’s an important skill and will satisfy high school graduation requirements in many states. However, it doesn’t replace the need for BLS certification in many fields as it doesn’t offer all the training you need to handle respiratory and cardiac emergencies outside a medical setting.

Why Save a Life by NHCPS?

Save a Life by NHCPS offers ALS/ACLS, BLS, and other certification options. Our courses cater to beginners, mid-range professionals, and seasoned medical experts.

Our courses are designed by Board Certified Physicians. They meet the latest ILCOR standards and guidelines. We regularly update our courses to include cutting-edge medical technologies and developments. This ensures you’re getting the best possible training. It also enables us to maintain a 98% national acceptance rate for our courses. When you study with us, you can rest assured that your certificate will almost certainly meet employer requirements.

What’s more, we offer multiple learning formats to meet the needs of all our students. We provide web study guides, PDF handbooks, videos, and audiobooks. Our courses also include an online exam. There is no limit on the number of times you can attempt to take an exam and, once you’re done, you’ll be able to print out your certificate or certification card from our site.

Getting Started

The first step is weighing up BLS vs ACLS. To pick a course, consider the following:

Your knowledge and experience
Current job position
Current job requirements
Future career goals

Remember, you can also pick two or more courses to take simultaneously. If you’re going for recertification, you can also choose between one-time or life-long recertification. The latter option allows you to pay only once for unlimited recertification classes.

Once you’ve compared the ACLS vs BLS and know what you want, complete the following tasks:

Enroll in your chosen course or course package. This includes creating a new account.
Complete the course.
Complete the exam. If you fail, you can try again. If you need to leave in the middle of an exam, you can save your progress and come back to it when you have time.
Access your card or certificate. You can download the file to your device or print it from our website. If you’d prefer to have us send you the card, fill out a form and let us know. We’ll mail your printed card to you within five to seven business days.

Getting top-tier medical training has never been simpler. Take advantage of our comprehensive ACLS and BLS bundle pricing to ensure you are fully prepared for any emergency. Our bundle offers a cost-effective way to enhance your skills in both advanced and basic life support. Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your medical expertise. Purchase the ACLS and BLS bundle today and get certified with confidence!