American Heart Association Training Site

Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS):

• PALS Provider Is intended For healthcare providers who respond to emergencies in infants and children and for personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care and critical care units

• BLS is geared towards prehospital providers, like EMTs, paramedics, fire fighters, and in-facility hospital providers. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion card, valid for two years. Please contact your employer to ensure that you are selecting the correct course.

• ACLS is geared towards healthcare professionals who either direct or participate in the management of cardiopulmonary arrest or other cardiovascular emergencies or personnel in emergency response. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion card, valid for two years. Please contact your employer to ensure that you are selecting the correct course.

• PALS is geared towards healthcare providers who respond to emergencies in infants and children and for personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care and critical care units. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion card, valid for two years. Please contact your employer to ensure that you are selecting the correct course.

PALS Study Guide

What does this course teach?

The PALS Provider Course aims to improve outcomes for pediatric patients by preparing healthcare providers to effectively recognize and intervene in patients with respiratory emergencies, shock, and cardiopulmonary arrest by using high‐performance team dynamics and high‐quality individual skills. The course includes a series of case scenario practices with simulations that reinforce important concepts. Upon successful completion of all the patient cases, students must pass the multiple-choice exam with a minimum score of 84%. Topics include:

After successfully completing this course, students will be able to

• Perform high‐quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) per American Heart Association (AHA) basic life support (BLS) recommendations
• Differentiate between patients who do and do not require immediate intervention
• Recognize cardiopulmonary arrest early and begin CPR within 10 seconds
• Apply team dynamics
• Differentiate between respiratory distress and failure
• Perform early interventions for respiratory distress and failure
• Differentiate between compensated and decompensated (hypotensive) shock
• Perform early interventions for the treatment of shock
• Differentiate between unstable and stable patients with arrhythmias
• Describe clinical characteristics of instability in patients with arrhythmias
• Implement post–cardiac arrest management

Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) Course Options

Students enrolled in ACLS and PALS Courses should take the mandatory preasseement and videos prior to attending the class, and they should bring in the results to the instructor. Students should retake the assessment until you master the subject. Click here for ACLS Precourse Self-Assessment or PALS Precourse Assessment.

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