PALS Course
PALS — Pediatric Advanced Life Support — is the American Heart Association course for healthcare professionals who respond to emergencies in infants and children. Children rarely arrest from a primary heart problem; they deteriorate from breathing difficulty or shock first, so PALS teaches you to recognise that deterioration early and stop it before the heart stops. Safety First Medical Services is an AHA training centre on Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi, running PALS as HeartCode blended learning, as a classroom course, and on site for hospital teams across the UAE. Live dates are below.
In short
A PALS course certifies you to assess and treat seriously ill or injured children and infants: respiratory distress and failure, shock, rhythm disturbances, cardiac arrest and post-arrest care, as a team member or leader. You need current BLS skills first, you pass skills tests and a written test, and the AHA PALS Provider eCard is valid for two years.
In adults, sudden cardiac arrest is often the first event. In children it is usually the last: a respiratory problem or shock progresses, the body compensates for a while, and then decompensates. That is why PALS spends so much of its time on recognition — spotting the child who is compensating now and will not be in an hour — and why its outcomes depend so much on what the team does before an arrest. It is also why drug doses and defibrillation energy are calculated by weight, and why equipment comes in a dozen sizes.
If you already hold ACLS, our guide to PALS vs ACLS explains exactly what is different.
PALS is for professionals who respond to emergencies in infants and children: paediatricians and paediatric nurses, emergency department doctors and nurses, neonatal and paediatric intensive care teams, anaesthetists, paramedics, and family and urgent-care doctors who see children. See PALS for nurses and doctors in the UAE for the usual requirements by role. Parents, teachers and childcare staff do not need PALS — the pediatric first aid course is designed for them.
| Format | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| HeartCode PALS (blended) | Cognitive part online at your own pace, then a hands-on skills practice and testing session with an AHA instructor. | Renewals and busy shift workers. Dates on the HeartCode PALS course page. |
| Classroom PALS | Instructor-led in the room: video, case discussion, skills stations and testing. | First-time providers. See the classroom PALS course. |
| On-site group PALS | We bring infant and child manikins, rhythm simulators and instructors to your unit. | Paediatric, NICU and emergency teams. Ask for a group quote. |
Complete the AHA PALS Precourse Self-Assessment before you come; it covers rhythm recognition, pharmacology and practical application, and it shows you what to revise. Refresh infant and child CPR — the course tests it — and learn the systematic approach until you can say it aloud. The PALS pretest and exam guide sets out every assessment, and our blog post on what to expect on a PALS course describes the day from a student’s point of view.
To receive the PALS Provider card you pass skills tests in child and infant high-quality BLS, and case-based testing scenarios — typically one respiratory and one shock case, or similar — in which you lead the team. There is also a written test on the course content. Remediation is available if a part is not passed first time; your instructor explains how each part is run on the day.
PALS is taught around infant and child manikins with a rhythm simulator. Teams rotate through roles — airway, compressions, vascular access and medications, monitor and defibrillator, recorder and leader — and each scenario ends with a debrief. Expect to calculate doses and energies by weight out loud, to use length-based tape and weight estimates, and to practise the hand-offs that go wrong most often in real paediatric emergencies.
The PALS Provider card is valid for two years. The PALS renewal guide explains how to renew efficiently and what to do if your card has lapsed.
Other life support and first aid courses: BLS Course · ACLS Course · First Aid Course · Training calendar
PALS stands for Pediatric Advanced Life Support, the American Heart Association course in the recognition and treatment of seriously ill or injured infants and children.
Yes. PALS assumes current BLS skills and tests child and infant high-quality CPR during the course.
The AHA PALS Provider eCard is valid for two years and expires at the end of the month of issue.
Healthcare professionals who respond to emergencies in infants and children, such as paediatric and emergency doctors and nurses, NICU and PICU teams, anaesthetists and paramedics.
It is different rather than harder. PALS focuses more on assessment and on preventing arrest, and all doses are weight-based.
The cognitive part can be completed online through HeartCode PALS, but a hands-on skills session with an AHA instructor is required before the card is issued.
No. NRP, the Neonatal Resuscitation Program, covers resuscitation of newborns at delivery. PALS covers infants and children beyond the newborn period. Some neonatal staff need both.
AHA PALS is widely requested by UAE hospitals and clinics licensed by DOH, DHA and MOHAP. Check the requirement for your own role with your facility.
Questions follow the course cases: assessment, respiratory and shock management, rhythms, arrest and post-arrest care, and team dynamics.
Yes. We run on-site group PALS for paediatric, neonatal and emergency teams across the UAE. Contact us for a quote.
Safety First Medical Services is an American Heart Association training centre on Al Reem Island. HeartCode blended PALS, classroom PALS and on-site group sessions for paediatric, emergency and neonatal teams, with a two-year AHA PALS Provider eCard on completion.
See PALS dates and register Classroom PALS course Group booking enquiry
What we teach follows the awarding body and the UAE health authorities. For the definitive position on a course or licensing question, these are the places to check.
Last reviewed by the training team at Safety First Medical Services, an American Heart Association training centre at Addax Office Tower, Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi. Call +971 55 761 9841 or email training@safetyfirstmed.ae.