Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition, and Stabilization (PEARS) Course Description

 
The PEARS Provider Course prepares healthcare providers caring for pediatric patients with foundational skills to assess, recognize, and participate in the initial management of respiratory and/or cardiovascular emergencies and cardiopulmonary arrest. Active case-based instruction will be used to teach students to provide appropriate lifesaving interventions within the initial minutes after response until the child is transferred to an advanced life support provider.
 
The Heart and Stroke Foundations PEARS Course offers:

• The latest resuscitation science for improved patient outcomes

• Enriched course content, including simulations, state-of-the-art 3-D animations, video scenarios and thought-provoking examples of real pediatric emergency cases, engaging students in robust dialogue and confirming their understanding of the educational material they have received.

• Enhanced features that provide course flexibility, by allowing instructors to incorporate local protocols into their training, while still ensuring that all learning objectives are met.

The goal of the PEARS Provider Course is to improve outcomes for pediatric patients by preparing healthcare providers in assessment, early recognition, prompt communication, and initial intervention in patients with respiratory emergencies, shock, and cardiopulmonary arrest by using high-performance team dynamics.

Intended Audience:
 
The Heart & Stroke Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition, and Stabilization (PEARS) Course is for healthcare professionals and others who might encounter pediatric emergency situations during their work, including Physicians and nurses not specializing in pediatrics, Nurse practitioners, Physician assistants, EMS, Respiratory therapists, Prehospital and in-facility healthcare providers (outside of critical-care areas), Outpatient clinic staff, School-based providers and any other healthcare professional who infrequently sees critically ill or injured infants and children

 
Course Overview and Design:
 
The Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition, and Stabilization (PEARS®) Provider

Course is designed to give students the opportunity to acquire, practice, and demonstrate proficiency in the assessment and management of critically ill pediatric patients.

The primary educational methodology used in the course is that of simulation, whether for skill acquisition, complex medical decision-making, or teamwork. Other modalities used are video demonstration and group discussion.

Students will have the opportunity to learn the following:

Skills:

•       Performing child and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

•       Using oxygen delivery and airway management equipment

•       Using shock management equipment and a method for giving rapid fluid boluses

Pediatric assessment: A systematic approach

Medical management:

•       4 types of acute respiratory problems

•       2 types of acute circulatory problems

•       2 types of cardiac arrest

Leadership: Communication and other important elements of team dynamics as they relate to resuscitation

 Students are required to be tested for competency in child and infant basic life support (BLS). 

PEARS Course Duration: Course durations provided are based upon a student-instructor ratio for learning stations of 6:1, and does not include additional times needed for breaks or transitions, or additional students. There are optional lesson plans that Instructors may use, this will add to this time.

 
Provider Course - Approximate course duration: 8 hours with breaks.  

PEARS Renewal Course – There is NO RENEWAL course for PEARS.

The PEARS course is designed for those students that do not see sick or injured children on a frequent basis, therefor to ensure students acquire, practice, and can demonstrate proficiency; PEARS students must complete the provider course every two years.
 
Course completion card expiration date:
 All Heart & Stroke PEARS course completions cards have an expiration date of two (2) years from the date of completion

PEARS Provider Course Prerequisites:
Students must prepare adequately to enable successful completion of the PEARS Provider Course. This course does not teach BLS skills. Thus, before taking the course, students must have a current (taken within the last 12 months and current to the most recent Guidelines) Heart & Stroke BLS course completion card.