Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)

Now updated to reflect the most current science from the 2025 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC, the PALS course 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.

What does PALS 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%.

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

PALS is intended for healthcare professionals who respond to emergencies in infants and children and for personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care and critical care units that encounter pediatric patients on a regular basis. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion eCard, valid for two years.

* Continuing Education / Continuing Medical Education (CE/CME) credits are available