Basic Life Support  

The AHA’s BLS course trains participants to promptly recognize several life-threatening emergencies, give high-quality chest compressions, deliver appropriate ventilations and provide early use of an AED. Reflects science and education from the American Heart Association Guidelines Update for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC). 

 The AHA’s BLS Course is designed for healthcare professionals and other personnel who need to know how to perform CPR and other basic cardiovascular life support skills in a wide variety of in-facility and prehospital settings. 

• High-quality CPR for adults, children, and infants
• The AHA Chain of Survival, specifically the BLS components
• Important early use of an AED
• Effective ventilations using a barrier device
• Importance of teams in multirescuer resuscitation and performance as an effective team member during multirescuer CPR
• Relief of foreign-body airway obstruction (choking) for adults and infants

 Basic Life Support (BLS) is available in two different training methods – blended learning and classroom training. All BLS course options teach the same AHA science-based skills and result in the same AHA BLS Course Completion Card. 

BLS is geared towards prehospital providers, like EMTs, paramedics, fire fighters, and in-facility hospital providers. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion card, valid for two years. Please contact your employer to ensure that you are selecting the correct course.

The AHA’s ACLS course builds on the foundation of lifesaving BLS skills, emphasizing the importance of continuous, high-quality CPR. Reflects science and education from the American Heart Association Guidelines Update for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC).

• For healthcare professionals who either direct or participate in the management of cardiopulmonary arrest or other cardiovascular emergencies and for personnel in emergency response

• Basic life support skills, including effective chest compressions, use of a bag-mask device, and use of an AED
• Recognition and early management of respiratory and cardiac arrest
• Recognition and early management of peri-arrest conditions such as symptomatic bradycardia
• Airway management
• Related pharmacology
• Management of ACS and stroke
• Effective communication as a member and leader of a resuscitation team

 Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) is available in two different training methods – blended learning and classroom training. All ACLS course options teach the same AHA science-based skills and result in the same AHA ACLS Course Completion Card. 

ACLS is geared towards healthcare professionals who either direct or participate in the management of cardiopulmonary arrest or other cardiovascular emergencies or personnel in emergency response. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion card, valid for two years. Please contact your employer to ensure that you are selecting the correct course.

• 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

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%. Topics include:

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 available in two different training methods – blended learning and classroom training. All PALS course options teach the same AHA science-based skills and result in the same AHA PALS Course Completion Card.

PALS is geared towards healthcare providers who respond to emergencies in infants and children and for personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care and critical care units. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion card, valid for two years. Please contact your employer to ensure that you are selecting the correct course.

The AHA’s PEARS (Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition and Stabilization) Course has been updated to reflect science in the 2015 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC. In this classroom-based, Instructor-led course, students learn how to use a systematic approach to quickly assess, recognize the cause, and stabilize a pediatric patient in an emergency situation.

During PEARS, students interact with real patient cases, and realistic simulations and animations to assess and stabilize pediatric patients experiencing respiratory and shock emergencies, and cardiopulmonary arrest. PEARS prepares students to provide appropriate lifesaving interventions within the initial minutes of response until a child can be transferred to an advanced life support provider.

The AHA’s PEARS Course is designed for healthcare providers and others who might encounter pediatric emergency situations during their work, including:

• Physicians and nurses not specializing in pediatrics
• Nurse practitioners
• Physician assistants
• EMTs,
• Respiratory therapists
• Prehospital and in-facility healthcare providers (outside of critical-care areas)
• Outpatient clinic staff
• School-based providers
• Any other healthcare provider who infrequently sees critically ill or injured infants and children

• Systematic pediatric assessment
• Recognition and stabilization of respiratory emergencies
• Recognition and stabilization of shock emergencies
• Recognition and stabilization of cardiopulmonary arrest
• Resuscitation team concept