Note: As of July 2025, centralized CPR skills sessions (for staff who do not require certification) are offered through the Neil and Elise Wallace STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation. Staff who require certification for their role should connect with their division’s Professional Development Managers to review their unit-specific certification process.
Please see additional information on these STRATUS courses below.
Certification for the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) programs can be obtained through the at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The STRATUS certification model is AHA’s RQI program. This is done via a combination of online cognitive learning modules (HeartCode) and an in-person, self-scheduled skills check on a voice-assisted manikin.
The STRATUS Center registration process enrolls you in the HeartCode® Complete course of your choice (BLS/ACLS/PALS). There are two components to each course:
You will not be able to do the skills check at the STRATUS Center until the online cognitive modules have been completed. You will see within your online course that the skills session is locked until your cognitive work is completed.
Note: that the STRATUS Center is not able to accommodate an in-person skills check for any learners who may have taken the online modules through a different program/vendor, as the manikin only supports this with registration via the STRATUS website.
The STRATUS Center does not offers discounts for BWH employees. Reimbursement may be possible through your Department’s Education Allowance. Please reach out to your Unit Directors/PDMs to see if reimbursement is available to you.
For full details and to register, please visit the site. Please thoroughly review all STRATUS rescheduling and cancelation processes and related fees before registering.
The Center for Nursing Excellence (CNE) is an American Heart Association (AHA) Training Center that provides Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Basic Life Support (BLS) courses.
The CNE supports divisional classes run by clinical educators/PDMs in divisions that require the certification of their staff. PDMs and Nursing Directors should email BWHCPR@partners.org if your division is interested in starting to run certification courses.
Due to high demand, these courses are only open to BWH employees. BLS and ACLS certification courses are provided as a blended learning format in which participants complete a didactic online course and then attend an in-person hands-on skills session. This blended learning is applicable to initial and renewal certifications. The HeartCode AHA online course(s) must be completed prior to attending the skills sessions and participants are responsible for obtaining and completing the AHA HeartCode courses prior to attending the skills session. There is a separate fee for the Heart Code courses.
Once registration and payment for the Skills Session has been received, an email confirmation will be sent within 3 business days with instructions on how to purchase the online HeartCode course. A hard copy of the course completion certificates is required on the day of the hands-on skills session.
Registration and payment on this page is for the Hands-on Skills session only. To ensure a smooth registration process, please use Google Chrome browser.
Cancellations and refunds: Cancellation must be requested 48 hours prior to the class date to receive a refund or to reschedule. No refunds will be given thereafter.
Class cancellation: Sessions may be cancelled due to insufficient enrollment. Fees paid will be refunded.
Disclosure: Fees charged for the skill sessions do not represent income to the American Heart Association.
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