PALS Pretest & Exam
On the way to a PALS Provider card you complete a precourse self-assessment, child and infant BLS skills tests, case-based testing scenarios and a written test. Each one checks something you will need at a real paediatric emergency, and each is very passable with a week of focused preparation.
The assessments
Precourse Self-Assessment (online) → child and infant high-quality BLS tests → case-based testing scenarios that you lead → written test. Remediation is available if a part is not passed first time.
The AHA asks PALS students to complete an online Precourse Self-Assessment covering rhythm recognition, pharmacology and practical application, and to bring the certificate. Use your score to decide what to revise. HeartCode PALS students cover this within the online course.
You will be tested on child CPR and on infant CPR, including the two-thumb encircling-hands technique for two rescuers and the 15:2 ratio. Depth, rate, recoil and minimal interruptions are what the instructor watches. Refresh them with our BLS course materials.
You lead the team through paediatric scenarios — commonly a respiratory case and a shock case, but the instructor may use others — applying the systematic approach: assess, categorise by type and severity, intervene, and reassess. Say your assessment aloud, calculate doses by weight, and direct the team with clear, closed-loop instructions.
A multiple-choice test on the course content: assessment, respiratory and shock management, rhythms, arrest and post-arrest care, and team dynamics. Your instructor explains the pass requirement and permitted resources on the day.
Other life support and first aid courses: BLS Course · ACLS Course · First Aid Course · Training calendar
Yes, AHA PALS students complete it before the course. HeartCode PALS includes it in the online part.
Paediatric emergencies such as respiratory and shock scenarios, run by you as team leader. Your instructor chooses the cases.
Learn them in the context of each pathway rather than as a list, and practise calculating by weight.
You receive remediation from the instructor and are retested.
No, newborn resuscitation at delivery is covered by NRP, not PALS.
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.