Course Overview

PALS, developed by the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, focuses on critical issues in pediatric resuscitation for health care providers. There is a very clear emphasis on priorities in assessment and management of the ill or injured child. The practical application of cognitive and psychomotor skills in pediatric resuscitation situations is emphasized in case presentations.

Participants in the PALS course will have an opportunity to practice emergency techniques such as intraosseous needle insertion, ventilating a child with a bag valve mask, intubation, umbilical line insertion and cardioversion/defibrillation of a child.

This half-day refresher course is designed for professionals who have a solid understanding of the ACLS provider course content - pediatricians, house staff, emergency physicians, family physicians, nurses, paramedics, respiratory therapists, and other healthcare providers who are responsible for the well-being of infants and children.

Learning Objectives

Cognitive and psychomotor skills are evaluated as recommended by the AHA. The same content as the two-day course is presented, but at an accelerated pace. This is an excellent opportunity to renew your provider card. This course is not recommended for those taking ACLS for the first time.

At the conclusions of these courses, each participant should be able to:

• Recognize the infant or child at risk of cardiopulmonary arrest.
• Identify strategies for prevention.
• Demonstrate the cognitive and psychomotor skills necessary for resuscitating and stabilizing the infant or child in respiratory failure, shock, or cardiopulmonary arrest.
• Demonstrate the use of the various airway and oxygen adjuncts and methods for optimum ventilation & airway control.
• Identify normal vs. abnormal cardiac rhythms and the appropriate pharmacologic and electrical therapies.
• State the indications & dosages of medications used in cardiopulmonary arrest and the effects on the cardiovascular system.
• Perform techniques to obtain vascular access in infants, children and newborns including peripheral, central and intraosseous cannulation.
• Perform advanced skills in the assessment and treatment of cardiopulmonary arrest in the pediatric patient.