AHA PALS Provider study plan

Differentiate respiratory distress, respiratory failure, and respiratory arrest using work-of-breathing, oxygenation, and ventilation cues in written vignettes.

Classify shock as compensated versus hypotensive by applying age-specific heart rate, blood pressure, and perfusion findings to short scenarios.

Distinguish upper airway obstruction from lower airway disease by matching stridor, grunting, wheeze, and retraction patterns to anatomic sites.

Sequence the first five interventions for a child presenting with impending respiratory failure.

Apply a systematic pediatric assessment sequence to 15 written cases and record the findings that drive each escalation decision.

Demonstrate, narrating aloud, the correct compression-to-ventilation ratio and hand position for a single rescuer versus two rescuers in an infant and a child.

Identify reversible causes of deterioration by running through a structured cause checklist on four decompensation vignettes.

Select and size airway adjuncts, supraglottic devices, and tracheal tubes for pediatric patients across age ranges.

Compare bag-mask ventilation, supraglottic airway, and tracheal intubation by listing indication, advantage, and failure mode for each.

Detect and correct common ventilation pitfalls, including over-ventilation, gastric insufflation, and unrecognized tube displacement.

Verbalize a failed-airway rescue sequence including when to place a supraglottic device and when to proceed to surgical airway.

Identify sinus rhythm, sinus bradycardia, and the bradycardia-with-pulse algorithm pathway on 24 short rhythm strips read cold.

Differentiate narrow-complex from wide-complex tachycardia and select synchronized cardioversion versus vagal maneuvers versus drug therapy accordingly.

Distinguish shockable from non-shockable arrest rhythms and map each to defibrillation dose strategy and compression interruption rules.

Explain the safe delivery sequence for synchronized cardioversion, including sedation considerations and sync-mode verification.

Build weight-based dose calculations for the core resuscitation drugs and check them against a reliable current reference.

Match each drug to its indication, route, and key caution in the bradycardia, tachycardia, and cardiac arrest algorithm pathways.

Calculate and verify a drug dose under time pressure for five simulated weights, including a 6 kg infant and a 40 kg adolescent.

List the drugs whose routine use in pediatric arrest is not supported and state the reasoning.

Run the bradycardia-with-pulse, tachycardia-with-pulse, and cardiac arrest algorithms end to end, naming each drug and electrical therapy at its decision point.

Integrate rhythm interpretation with drug selection by solving 12 combined rhythm-plus-intervention vignettes.

Rehearse dose recall and rhythm call-outs in three timed five-minute drills.

Specify post-arrest targets for oxygenation, ventilation, temperature, blood pressure, and glucose management.

Outline the evaluation and management steps for a child who remains comatose after return of spontaneous circulation.

Assign team roles and demonstrate closed-loop communication and a structured debrief in two simulated resuscitations.

Identify system-level and human-factor contributors to resuscitation errors in four case reviews.

Complete two full-length timed practice assessments and review every missed item to its underlying concept.

Re-teach the three weakest concepts from earlier weeks without notes.

Walk through four integrated megacode-style scenarios from first impression through post-arrest handoff.