Emergency Neurological Life Support
By Chad Miller, MD, FNCS, and Kristine O’Phalen, MD, FNCS
ENLS Version 3.0
This year’s Annual
Meeting marks the fiveyear
anniversary of the
inaugural Emergency
Neurological Life
Support (ENLS) course.
Since the original
publication in 2012,
over 6,000 health care
professionals have
obtained their ENLS certification, and live courses have been held
in over 30 states and 22 countries.
The ENLS program was designed to reflect best practice, and as
such, the content is updated every two years. The newly revised
Version 3.0, released in October 2017, continues to provide
an algorithmic approach to the early stages of clinical care for
patients with acute neurological emergencies. The content was
updated with three areas of emphasis in mind:
• More directive algorithms and specific information in checklists
• Incorporation of aspects essential to provision of nursing care
for patients with acute neurological emergencies
• Attention to consistency with published guidelines from the
NCS as well as our sister societies involved in emergent and
critical care
Updates to the ENLS manuscripts, slide decks, and exam questions
would not be possible without the extraordinary efforts of over
40 NCS member volunteers serving on the ENLS Protocols and
Certification Subcommittees. In addition to these lead authors,
a working group comprised of pediatricians, pharmacists, nurses,
and pre-hospital professionals edited the manuscripts to ensure
the newly updated content was relevant and current with respect
to each discipline.
Validation Study
As ENLS continues to evolve, program leaders have continued to
assess the educational value of the program and the durability of
ENLS knowledge retention among learners. To better understand
the impact of this training, NCS is conducting the ENLS Validation
Study (ENLS VS) to measure what participants learn from
taking ENLS courses and how well they retain that information.
Investigators Aimee Aysenne and Lara Zimmerman are leading
the study. ENLS VS has several parts, including a pre-training
examination, which is taken prior to an ENLS course; a posttraining
examination, which is taken within 72 hours of finishing
an ENLS course, and a latent post-training examination, which
is taken six months after the ENLS course. Initial results will be
available at the 2017 Annual Meeting in October. Final results
will be presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting. NCS continues to
enroll individuals and groups in the study. For more information
on enrollment, visit www.neurocriticalcare.org/Education-NCSOnDemand/
ENLS/Validation-Study.
Translation
Thanks to tremendous efforts by Dr. Hitoshi Kobata of the Osaka
Mishima Emergency and Critical Care Medical Center and his
team of translators, the Emergency Neurological Life Support
course has been translated into Japanese. This newly translated
version of ENLS was most recently presented at a live course in
Saitama, Japan, on May 21, and was a great success.
This translated course can now be accessed by individuals online
or utilized in live training sessions.
This November, the Spanish version of ENLS will be released
at the NCS Regional Meeting in Quito, Ecuador. After this
introductory live course, the translated materials will be available
online and for use in future live courses. Translation of ENLS
into Spanish would not be possible without the editing efforts
of Drs. Jose Suarez, Fred Rincon, Jorge Mejia-Mantilla, Susana
Bowling, Guadalupe Castillo-Abrego, and Nelson Maldonado.
Additional translated versions of ENLS will be released over the
next three years.
ENLS Certification Cards
NCS will begin distributing ENLS certification cards to those who
have taken the ENLS course within the last two years, making it
easier than ever to know when it’s time to recertify and stay current
on the latest ENLS-related medical updates and module additions.
Look for your card in the mail this October.
The ENLS
program has
benefitted from
the unwavering
support of NCS
leadership and
membership.
Our hope is to
continue to
produce an
educational
experience that is helpful to you, your colleagues, and our
patients. We look forward to seeing you in Hawaii.
Chad Miller, MD,
FNCS
Kristine O’Phalen,
MD, FNCS
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