BLS certification is a credential that proves a nurse can perform CPR, use an automated external defibrillator (AED), and manage choking emergencies in adults, children, and infants. Nearly every hospital and healthcare employer in the United States requires it as a condition of hiring and continued employment. The certification lasts two years before it needs to be renewed, and the full course can be completed in a single day.
What the Course Covers
BLS stands for Basic Life Support. The core goal is straightforward: keep blood and oxygen circulating in someone whose heart has stopped or who can’t breathe, until more advanced help arrives. The American Heart Association’s BLS course teaches six main skills:
- High-quality chest compressions for adults, children, and infants
- Rescue breathing and ventilation using protective barriers
- AED use, including when and how to attach the pads and deliver a shock
- Choking relief for all age groups
- Team-based resuscitation, coordinating roles during a code with multiple rescuers
- Chain of Survival concepts, the sequence from recognizing cardiac arrest to calling for help to starting compressions
For healthcare providers specifically, the course goes deeper than a layperson CPR class. You’ll practice compression techniques tailored to different patient sizes. For infants, the current guidelines recommend a one-hand technique or a two thumb, encircling hands technique, and the older two-finger method has been eliminated because it doesn’t achieve adequate compression depth. For children ages one to eight, two-hand compressions produce better depth than one hand. Compression rate for all patients falls between 100 and 120 per minute.
During hands-on practice, you’ll work with training manikins, AED trainers with adhesive pads that simulate a real device, disposable gloves, and face shield breathing barriers. The emphasis is on muscle memory. You compress real manikin chests, practice switching roles with a partner, and get corrected on depth and rate in real time.
How It Differs From ACLS
BLS covers the initial response to cardiac arrest and respiratory failure. Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) builds on top of it with interventions like IV access, medication administration, electrical therapies beyond basic defibrillation, and advanced airway management. Think of BLS as what you do in the first minutes, and ACLS as what the resuscitation team layers on once more resources arrive.
All nurses need BLS. ACLS is typically required for nurses working in emergency departments, ICUs, cardiac units, and operating rooms, along with physicians, anesthesiologists, and paramedics. Many hospitals require both for any bedside nursing role, but BLS is always the baseline.
Course Formats and Time Commitment
You can get certified through two main formats. The traditional classroom course runs about 4.5 hours including skills practice, breaks, and a skills test. Everything happens in person with an instructor and a small group.
The blended learning option splits the work into two parts. You complete a self-paced online module in one to two hours covering the knowledge portion, then attend a separate in-person skills session that takes one to two hours depending on your experience level. This format works well if you’d rather absorb the theory on your own schedule and spend less time in a classroom.
Renewal courses are slightly shorter. The in-person renewal runs about four hours. If you’re renewing through a blended format, some programs use adaptive testing that can cut the exam time in half if you demonstrate competency quickly.
AHA vs. Red Cross Certification
Both the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross offer BLS courses, but they are not equally accepted by employers. The vast majority of hospitals require AHA certification specifically. Some facilities, particularly those in the HCA hospital network, accept Red Cross credentials, but they’re the exception. Certain states mandate AHA certification outright. If you’re not sure which one your employer wants, ask before registering. Completing the wrong provider’s course could mean paying twice.
Renewal and Staying Current
BLS certification expires every two years. Most employers track expiration dates and will flag you well before yours lapses, but staying on top of it yourself avoids last-minute scrambling. Renewal courses cover the same skills as the initial certification but assume you have a working foundation.
Guidelines do change. The AHA updates its resuscitation science periodically, and each renewal cycle may introduce new recommendations. The 2025 pediatric guidelines, for example, changed the recommended infant compression technique. Renewal isn’t just a bureaucratic hoop; it’s how you stay aligned with current evidence on what actually improves survival.
Why Employers Require It
Cardiac arrest can happen anywhere in a hospital, not just in the ICU or emergency department. A patient on a med-surg floor, a visitor in the lobby, a coworker in the break room. BLS certification ensures that every nurse on staff can respond effectively in those first critical minutes before a rapid response or code team arrives. Compressions started immediately after cardiac arrest roughly double the chance of survival compared to waiting for advanced help. Hospitals treat this certification as non-negotiable because the skill gap between a trained responder and an untrained one is the difference between a patient who has a chance and one who doesn’t.
For nursing students, most clinical placement sites require a valid BLS card before you set foot on the unit. Nursing programs typically build BLS certification into the first semester, and you’ll need to keep it current through graduation and beyond.