Weight loss clinics are becoming more prevalent throughout society as the obesity epidemic claims more and more lives. These life-saving clinics can help patients reach a healthy weight through a variety of methods, including counseling, nutrition classes, medications, and surgical options. Many weight loss clinics provide a comprehensive plan for their clients to lose weight, and therefore may employ individuals from a variety of specialties as well as support staff like receptionists and schedulers.

As this is generally an outpatient private practice, it may not seem necessary for every employee to learn Basic Life Saving methods, but this isn’t true. Everyone in the healthcare profession, including those who are not doctors or nurses, needs to know how to intervene in a medical emergency. Here’s why – and how you can get this essential certification for every employee in your practice.

Obese people are in poorer health and therefore may suffer medical emergencies at a higher rate than the general public

It’s no secret that obesity has a serious impact on a person’s well-being, which is why there are so many different interventions they can try to lower their weight. Some of these risks are associated with medical emergencies that can strike at any time, including strokes and heart attacks.

As you’re working with a medically vulnerable population, it’s important that everyone who interacts with them is capable of providing life-saving treatment, including support staff. Every second counts in an emergency, and knowing what to do right away while waiting for more help can be the difference between life and death for the person suffering an emergency.

Don’t assume that you or one of your nurses will be immediately available right when someone needs help: bad timing could mean that everyone with extensive medical training is occupied elsewhere or even out of the building, such as during a lunch break. You need to be sure that everyone in the practice can assist whenever disaster strikes.

Don’t assume that everyone in your clinic is prepared for an emergency

If you run a multidisciplinary weight loss clinic, you may assume that all of your colleagues are capable of providing Basic Life Support in an emergency, but that is not necessarily true. They may have received some simple first aid training as part of their coursework, but this might not be enough to help depending on the circumstances they find themselves in. For example, a dietician may not have been required to learn any first aid, and a mental health counselor may have only needed to learn CPR.

There’s also the fact that information which isn’t reinforced and practiced will quickly grow stale and unusable as the person forgets, replacing that information with something more immediately relevant. Your staff’s therapist may have learned first aid during his training, but has never used it since and therefore doesn’t remember much of what they learned. It’s essential that all your staff receive a refresher in this vital information at least once every two years so that it remains clear in their minds, ready to be used in any emergency situation.

Online BLS certification is an easy and affordable way to provide this essential training

You may be wondering if you have to shut down your whole clinic to give your employees BLS certification, but that’s definitely not the case. In fact, there’s a much more convenient way to ensure everyone is qualified to help in an emergency, one that is both cost effective and will not disrupt the everyday functioning of your business.

BLS for Healthcare Providers Certification Class from Pro Trainings is an entirely online course that your employees can complete on their own time and at their own pace, meaning that you don’t need to take time away from your schedule and lose out on money by holding a training session. Those who take the course will be fully certified in Basic Life Support for two years, and they receive the exact same lessons as those who undergo more traditional in-person sessions. Your employees can work on a few modules at a time or complete it all at once, and they have access to on-demand videos and reading materials to help them study.

At only $65 per person, this is an incredibly affordable way to ensure that your employees can help in an emergency, thus giving your patients – and your practice – more protection if the unthinkable happens.

You went into medicine to save lives, and there’s no better way to do so than to run a clinic that helps patients reach their weight goals and flourish as a thinner, healthier person. However, you must consider worst-case scenarios, especially when working with medically fragile people, which is why online BLS certification through vendors like Pro Trainings is the best way to ensure that every patient is safe every time they visit your practice.