Basic life support training (BLS training) gives you the skills you need to potentially save someone’s life. Being certified in BLS is particularly important to those who work in healthcare or are interested in a career in the medical field or as a first responder.

There’s no doubt about it: BLS training saves lives. But it can also help advance your career, no matter what field you work in.

What Is Basic Life Support (BLS) Training?

Basic Life Support (BLS) is an emergency medical response used when a person goes into cardiac arrest (the heart has stopped beating). BLS helps ensure oxygenated blood reaches a person’s brain and other vital organs in an emergency before care can be provided in a healthcare setting.

BLS training teaches life-saving skills including:

• Treatment for infants, children, and adults who are choking
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for people of all ages
• How to use medical equipment (e.g., defibrillator) during emergency rescue
• How to administer CPR as part of a team
• How to administer chest compressions
• How to think quickly in an emergency
• How to ensure a person’s safety in an emergency

The American Academy of CPR and First Aid offers comprehensive, affordable training in the knowledge and skills you need to handle any emergency, whether in a medical setting or enjoying a day out with friends and family. Board-certified instructors with years of healthcare experience provide our course material.

How Does BLS Training Benefit Your Career?

Healthcare professionals and first responders typically must have completed BLS training. But lifeguards, childcare providers, restaurant workers, and anyone else who works with the public can also benefit from being BLS-certified. Here are some of the ways BLS training helps your career.

Knowledge of the Most Up-to-Date Life-Saving Methods
When someone goes into cardiac arrest or is choking, getting essential treatment immediately can be a matter of life or death. Research shows people who experienced cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting and received BLS had a higher survival rate and better cognitive functioning than those who did not.

Because new developments in medicine and life-saving techniques occur frequently, it is essential to update your BLS training regularly to stay aware of the current best practices for administering Basic Life Support.

Stand Out from the Crowd
BLS training isn’t required for many fields of employment, but it can still be beneficial. The skills you learn from BLS training can be helpful in virtually every work environment. After all, cardiac arrest and medical emergencies occur most often outside hospital settings.

With your BLS certification, employers will know that you take initiative, are willing to learn new skills, and are interested in self-development—all qualities that can help you stand out when seeking a new job or when requesting a promotion or raise.

Learn Leadership Skills
BLS training does more than just teach you how to save a life: it helps you learn how to effectively communicate and work with others in high-stress situations. You’ll gain important skills on how to take charge and provide clear and concise directions to those around you and gain invaluable leadership skills in the process. No matter your career field, your employer should highly value those leadership skills, which can benefit every aspect of your professional and personal life.

Prevent Burnout
Burnout—work-related stress occurring because of chronic stress on the job—is a significant issue for healthcare workers. Alarmingly, 55% of front-line health care workers reported experiencing burnout in the past year. Burnout not only affects healthcare providers’ own physical and emotional well-being but may also impact the quality of care patients receive.

While BLS training cannot completely eradicate the issue of burnout, it does allow you to build your skills, improve your knowledge base, understand the most recent best practices for reducing mortality, and provide you with an opportunity to connect with peers outside of the work environment. BLS training and other educational programs can improve healthcare workers’ attitudes regarding emergency care. Together, all of these can reduce the risk of burnout.