Course Offerings

The Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) Instructor Essentials Course is an intensive course for instructor candidates who have already successfully completed the PALS Provider Course. The role and scope of practice of healthcare providers can vary greatly, so there are no profession-specific guidelines for becoming an AHA Instructor in a specific discipline. Instructor candidates should exemplify integrity, demonstrate strong ethics, communicate clearly, and model a dedication to quality of training. The PALS Course uses a variety of teaching methods and adult learning principles in an environment that, in some cases, will mimic (simulate)—or may actually be—a real healthcare setting (eg, back of an ambulance, emergency department bed). From an educational perspective, the closer the simulated emergency is to a real-life case (eg, setting, equipment),the better the transfer of skills. Cognitive, psychomotor, and some affective domains will be accomplished through small-group teaching and case scenario practice on a manikin as a Team Leader and team members (ie, hands-on learning) and the use of large- or small-group short video presentations with instructor-student interaction (ie, engagestudents in discussion).