Learning Objective #1: List the clinical benefits of a Pediatric RN PALS Class design in realtion to clinical competence and patient safety.

Learning Objective #2: Explain the components of the Pedaitric RN PALS Class and how they differ from the mainstream classes.

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Traditionally, PALS was designed for any provider which included outpatient and inpatient physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and paramedics. Duke also required PALS for only the nurses in the critical care setting. The pediatric patients on our intermediate units are much more complex in today’s health care setting. To respond to this increase in acuity, PALS requirement was expanded to be obtained by all nurses in the Clinical Services Unit (CSU). To decrease the expected anxiety and apprehension of the nurses taking the classes, the CSU PALS course was developed. The program is in accordance with the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for the course, but is collaboration between Duke Hospital Education Services, Children’s Hospital and Health Center Leadership, and the Duke AHA Training Center. By holding our own PALS course, we are able to emphasize the nurses role in PALS, the nursing implications, and perform the actual psychomotor skills of the mega code in a familiar setting. The mega code actually has the code team function in their roles, so the physician runs the code with pharmacy and respiratory therapy performing their duties so the nurse can concentrate on their role. The outcomes are: increase of proficiency of nurse’s role during a code, decrease of anxiety and apprehension, increase teamwork, validate nurses skill set, and increase in instructor base. The implications of this project are that the nursing staff are more effective during codes, less anxious and able to prevent the patient from being in a code situation by using the knowledge obtained in PALS. There is also an increase in teamwork between the entire code team to include physicians, nurses, respiratory therapy, pharmacy, and nurse’s aides.