AHLS Frequently Asked Questions
Application Process
Course Approval
Advertising Your Course
Course Follow-up
General Questions
Application Process
Who can apply to host an AHLS course?
An organization, such as a poison center, fire department, emergency department, hospital, or state health department can host a course. However, the application must come from a verified AHLS Instructor.
How do I find a Course Director?
The AHLS website lists all Regional Directors. Contact the Regional Director in your area to make arrangements for your course. If the Regional Director for your area is unavailable to serve as the toxicologist, medical director or instructor, and you are not a verified AHLS Instructor, either you or the Regional Director should contact AHLS International Headquarters to locate a qualified AHLS Instructor.
How do I locate instructors to teach the course?
The Course Director can look up a list of instructors from the website and contact indviduals to teach. The Course Director should first contact AHLS to receive access to a list of Instructors.
How many instructors are needed to teach a course?
A minimum of two instructors is necessary for each course. For instance, if the Course Director will teach the didactic lectures, another instructor can assist with the interactive case studies (scenarios). There must be a ratio of
What is necessary to hold a Provider/Instructor, Toxic Terrorism or Chemical Burns course?
First, the Regional Director should be contacted and a Course Director assigned to the course. If the Course Director is not a physician or Board-Certified Toxicologist, a verified Instructor who is also a physician and one who is a Board-Certified Toxicologist will need to be available during the Provider course. A physician and Board-Certified Toxicologist are not necessary for the AHLS for Chemical Burns or AHLS for Toxic Terrorism courses. The facility (lecture hall) for the course must have ample seating and room for a/v equipment, allowing all participants to see the slides. A small number of rooms (up to four) with a capacity of 25 is necessary for the afternoon scenarios for the course.
How many people can register for a course?
All AHLS courses are limited to 100 participants, allowing for a maximum student/faculty ratio of 25:1.
How do I apply to host an AHLS course?
To apply to host any AHLS course offering, the Course Director should contact AHLS to receive access to a menu item, "Course Management" which will appear in the left menu, then click on Create a Course and follow the links to the online application. The completed application, preliminary budget and $25 application fee are due a minimum of 6 months prior to the planned course.
When will I find out about if my course has been approved?
Applications are reviewed by AHLS International Headquarters and the Regional Director, and the Course Director will be contacted within two weeks of receipt.
Course Approval
My course was approved, what is the next step?
AHLS International Headquarters will provide the Course Director with the necessary documents to advertise and plan the course. The Course Director is responsible for the course, however, another person can serve as the contact person for registrants.
A sample brochure is included on the Course Management website for you to follow for advertising purposes. The Course Director will be provided access to parts of the website allowing downloading of documents for the course in two phases: 1) after application approval, 2) after payment for all participants is received by AHLS International Headquarters. The Course Director is responsible for downloading all materials.
Advertise early to ensure that your course will have the proper number of registrants for a viable course. International Headquarters has suggested prices for the course, however each site can charge different fees.
How will I know what steps to follow to plan for the course?
The Course Management Packet (available from the password-protected website at time of course approval) includes a set of three checklists: pre-program, program and post program. These checklists break the course down into the small details necessary to organize and run a course.
Do I receive the slide presentation for the course?
Yes. The PowerPoint slide presentation will be provided to the Course Director on CD 4-6 weeks prior to the course.
Each CD will also include the Slide Guide, a breakdown of each slide’s content. The Slide Guide will assist the instructor in preparing his/her lecture.
How will I receive materials for the course?
The Course Director must order books at least 6 weeks prior to the course. The posttests, answer key and surveys will be shipped with the manuals to the Course Director. All other course materials will be available for the Course Director to download from the AHLS website.
If I order books 6 weeks prior to the course, how will I know how many books to order?
AHLS strongly encourages early advertising of the registration deadline of 6-weeks prior to the course. This allows time to order manuals, have them printed, shipped to the course location and then to be distributed to participants two weeks prior to the course.
What if someone registers after the 6-week registration deadline?
If the Course Director thinks there will be additional participants interested in the course, but will not have registrations until after the 6-week deadline, the Course Director can order 10% more manuals than students registered.
However, complete fees for each student (registered and estimated to register) are due to International Headquarters when the book order is placed. Therefore, if the Course Director will allow additional registrants, he/she must pay the entire fee for each additional estimated participant. When the course is complete, any remaining usable books must be returned to International Headquarters. The Course Director will be refunded the amount of the fee, less a 15% re-stocking fee for the cost of the book.
Allowing late registrations is discouraged and should be avoided. Refunds will be issued in a timely manner, but due to the restrictions of the
Once the course is approved, you should consider where to advertise your course. Suggest articles, or calendar items in local medical society newsletters. A sample press release is included on one of the password-protected websites. Contact your state ACEP chapter, Emergency Nurses Association, State Hospital Association, State EMS Director, EMS Coordinators at local hospitals, and State Fire Marshal's office to advertise your course.
Our course was successful and now we are ready to return information to International Headquarters. What items need to be returned?
The following items are due to the AHLS International Headquarters within two weeks of the course: Registration list, Posttests, Surveys, CE Forms, Disclosure Statements (1 per instructor), Instructor CV.
Any manuals left after the course must also be returned. There will be a 15% re-stocking fee for all returned manuals still usable. The remainder of each expected extra participant’s registration fee will be refunded.
How do participants receive verification cards?
Participants will receive their verification cards within 4 - 6 weeks of the course. They will receive an email telling them how to logon to our website and download their certificate and card. They will not be sent a copy in the mail.
General Questions
Who can take the Provider course?
AHLS is about the medical management of hazmat patients. The target audience is: physicians, physician assistants, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, and toxicologists.
The AHLS Provider course can also be taken by non-medical personnel such as chemical engineers and lab technicians. Non-medical personnel and EMT-B's will NOT receive verification, but will receive a certificate of completion and continuing education credits from the AHLS International Headquarters.
Non-medical personnel can only take the Provider course. The Instructor course is reserved for medical personnel only (excluding EMT-B's, EMT-I's and Respiratory Therapists).
Course presentations are designed for EMS and other health professionals. Non-medical personnel are eligible to attend the Provider course. However, non-medical personnel, Emergency Medical Responders (EMR), Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT), and EMT-Basics will not be verified in the course, but will receive a certificate of completion and continuing education credits provided solely by AHLS.
Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians (AEMT), EMT-Intermediates and Respiratory Therapists can become verified Providers. They can also be considered to become instructors on a case-by-case basis. Approval to take the Instructor Course will be decided by the Administrative Policy Committee upon review of the candidate's credentials.
* Please note: Medical Personnel (excluding Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT), EMT-B and EMT-I's, and Respiratory Therapists) may become AHLS Instructors. However, AHLS requires a team of instructors for the Provider Course, including a board-certified toxicologist and a medical director (if toxicologist is not a physician) who is a current AHLS Instructor. An AHLS Instructor may be from any health profession including paramedic (CEP/EMT-P, AEMT/EMT-I only), nurse, respiratory therapist, physician assistant, physician and pharmacist.
Who can take the Instructor course?
Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians (AEMT), EMT-Intermediates and Respiratory Therapists can become verified Providers. They can also be considered to become instructors on a case-by-case basis. Approval to take the Instructor Course will be decided by the Administrative Policy Committee upon review of the candidate's credentials.
* Please note: Medical Personnel (excluding Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT), EMT-B and EMT-I's, and Respiratory Therapists) may become AHLS Instructors. However, AHLS requires a team of instructors for the Provider Course, including a board-certified toxicologist and a medical director (if toxicologist is not a physician) who is a current AHLS Instructor. An AHLS Instructor may be from any health profession including paramedic (CEP/EMT-P, AEMT/EMT-I only), nurse, respiratory therapist, physician assistant, physician and pharmacist.
Who can take the AHLS for Toxic Terrorism, AHLS for Chemical Burns, and AHLS for Radiological Incidents courses?
All professions can attend these courses. The courses provide continuing education credits, but no verification status.
What are the benefits of taking this course?
The course is approved by various agencies for continuing education. Qualified medical personnel will receive continuing education credit according to their profession and the course completed. See our web site for details.
Medical personnel completing the course will receive verification cards indicating they have successfully completed the Provider and/or Instructor course. Verification lasts four years.
Are the manuals available for purchase?
The AHLS Provider Manual is available for purchase outside the course through AHLS International Headquarters. Other course manuals will be available for purchase outside the courses in the near future.
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