Pediatric Advanced Life Support

Halifax First Aid offers quality advanced pediatric CPR training to health care providers, available all through the week. We are one of the few providers in the city that make training programs accessible with very affordable rates without compromising the quality of our curriculum. If you work in health care and deal with pediatric patients regularly, you might be interested in enrolling in our PALS training program for HCPs.

Application to PALS training

Contacting us is quite easy. You can send an e-mail when you are free and we will be able to reply to you during business hours. Calling and visiting our provider in person can likewise only be done from 8 AM to 5 PM. You may even speed up your enrollment process by using the form below to start your application. We receive all requests as soon as you click submit, but will only be able to process them during business hours.

PALS and Pediatric CPR

The management of children necessitates its own specialty in the field of health care – pediatrics. Nurses, physicians, and diagnostic health care providers all need to specialize in pediatrics if they handle children regularly. The same applies to procedures and medication – cardiopulmonary resuscitation included.

CPR management is different for infants, toddlers and young children, and older children and adults. Ventilations (rescue breaths) remain the same – tilt the head back (if victim does not have a neck or back injury), pinch the nose, and deliver two full breaths, watching for the chest rise and fall. Chest compressions and defibrillation are given different to children.

Chest compressions

Because infants and toddlers are very small and their bodies are easily injured, one of the most common problems with chest compressions is fractured ribs. Unlike adult CPR where a rescuer uses two hands, infant CPR is performed with two fingers, either (1) two thumbs with hands around the chest or (2) the second and third fingers of one hand. Compression depth is usually an inch (or a third of the anterior-posterior diameter). Giving CPR toddlers uses one hand, same position in the middle of the chest. The chest is compressed by 1.5 inches (same guide – a third of the AP diameter).

Defibrillation

When victims of cardiac arrest experience the heart attack in a hospital or a medical setting, medical equipment and medications are used to manage them. Defibrillation is the third major concept used in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It can only be performed if a defibrillator is available, either manual or automated (used commonly by EMTs). Defibrillators are attached to the chest with pads and send electricity to the heart to correct its rhythm. They aren’t used when the victim’s rhythm is a “flat line” or asystole – only compressions and ventilations are performed during this time. For children, joules delivered by the defibrillator range from 150 to 360 joules.

PALS training credentials in Halifax

Halifax First Aid PALS certificates are valid for three years before they need to be replaced. Technically speaking, certificates cannot be renewed but trainees who have previously taken PALS training do not have to take the program again. Re-certification courses are available and the student just needs to take that and pass another certification exam.

 

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