PALS Course: What Paediatric Teams Learn and How It Is Assessed

Who PALS is for

Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) is the American Heart Association course for healthcare providers who respond to emergencies in infants and children. It is commonly required for doctors and nurses in emergency departments, paediatric wards, paediatric intensive care and paediatric clinics, along with paramedics and anaesthesia staff.

At SFMS the PALS provider course runs over two days in our Al Reem Island classroom and reflects the 2025 AHA Guidelines for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care.

Why children need a different approach

Children rarely arrest suddenly from a heart problem in the way adults often do. Far more often a breathing problem or shock gets steadily worse until the heart stops. That gives a skilled team a window to act, and PALS is built around using it.

The course trains you to tell a child who needs immediate intervention from one who doesn’t, and to recognise cardiopulmonary arrest early and begin CPR within 10 seconds.

What the course covers

• High-quality CPR for infants and children, following AHA BLS recommendations.
• Telling respiratory distress apart from respiratory failure, and early interventions for both.
• Recognising compensated and decompensated (hypotensive) shock and starting treatment.
• Distinguishing stable from unstable patients with arrhythmias.
• Post-cardiac arrest management.
• Team dynamics during a resuscitation.

The systematic approach

One thread runs through all of it: a structured way of assessing a sick child, starting with a quick first impression and moving through a hands-on assessment. Once it becomes habit, it gives you something reliable to fall back on when a real situation is stressful.

How the case scenarios work

Most of the two days is spent in small groups running simulated cases. One person leads while others take roles such as compressions, airway, medications and recording, and the roles rotate so each candidate spends time as team leader.

Instructors look for the same things in every case: a systematic assessment, the right intervention at the right time, clear closed-loop communication and good-quality CPR when it is needed. The debrief after each case is where much of the learning happens, so treat it as part of the course rather than a break.

Passing the PALS exam

After completing the patient cases, candidates sit a multiple-choice exam and need a minimum score of 84%. It covers the same ground as the scenarios, so the best revision is understanding the reasoning behind each intervention rather than memorising isolated facts.

How to prepare

• Refresh infant and child CPR. Hand position, compression depth and technique differ from adults. If your BLS needs renewing, see BLS course dates in Abu Dhabi first.
• Complete the AHA pre-course self-assessment so you know which topics need more time.
• Review normal vital signs by age. Recognising a sick child depends on knowing what normal looks like at each age.
• Arrive rested on both days. Scenario work is intensive and you’ll learn more when you’re alert.

PALS and related courses

Staff outside clinical roles who look after children, such as nursery and school staff, are better suited to Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid CPR AED. Clinicians who mainly treat adults usually take ACLS, and many emergency staff hold both.