PEDIATRIC EDUCATIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

Because many aspects of emergency care are different for children than for adults, health care professionals with responsibility for children must have the specific knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to provide appropriate care. In addition, many providers have limited opportunities to apply their pediatric knowledge and skills. This emphasizes the need for ongoing education in order to refresh one's knowledge and skill base as well as to ensure clinical consistency with current practice guidelines. A needs assessment conducted by Illinois Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) identified that many prehospital and hospital health care practitioners feel the need for greater preparedness when caring for the pediatric patient. Integration of pediatric focused educational curricula into healthcare provider primary and continuing education will assist in addressing this need. The educational needs of healthcare practitioners should be addressed through curricula that can focus on recognizing characteristic signs of serious illness or injury in children of all ages, timely pediatric assessment, stabilization and treatment modalities that favor improved outcomes. Pediatric focused education is emphasized for all practitioners whose duties bring them into contact with the pediatric population including first responders, EMT-Basics, EMT-Intermediates, EMT-Paramedics, emergency physicians, emergency nurses, pediatric nurses, pediatricians, family practitioners, clinic or office based personnel and school nurses, among others.  In addition, the development of instructors with a strong pediatric knowledge base will provide the most effective means of ensuring the longevity of pediatric emergency care education. The Illinois Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Advisory Board supports the inclusion of the following pediatric focused educational initiatives into healthcare practitioner primary and continuing education.  Pediatric emergency care course information can be viewed in the Upcoming Courses section of our web site.

Advanced Pediatric Life Support (APLS)
This two day course focuses on the initial management of illnesses and injuries that, if left untreated, could lead to life threatening pediatric conditions requiring resuscitation. The course content is primarily oriented toward emergency diagnosis and response. The course format combines lectures with small group sessions that allow for case presentations and hands-on experience. Sponsored by the American College of Emergency Physicians and American Academy of Pediatrics, this course is recommended for all physicians and other healthcare professionals who are responsible for the management of acutely ill or injured children.

Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course (ENPC)
This 16 hour comprehensive pediatric course is tailored specifically to meet the educational needs of the nurse in an emergency setting. The focus of this course is to teach nurses the various aspects of pediatric emergency nursing care. Lectures and skill stations emphasize the appropriate triage, assessment and management of the ill or injured pediatric patient. The course is designed to provide core-level pediatric knowledge and psychomotor skills associated with the delivery of professional nursing care to the pediatric patient.

Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
This American Heart Association sponsored course focuses primarily on pediatric resuscitation. It provides the information needed for recognizing the child at risk for cardiopulmonary arrest, strategies for preventing cardiopulmonary arrest in the pediatric population and reinforcement of the cognitive and psychomotor skills necessary for resuscitating and stabilizing the infant or child in respiratory failure, shock or cardiopulmonary arrest. This two day course is geared toward all healthcare professionals who provide care to children.

Pediatric Education for Prehospital Professionals (PEPP)
The American Academy of Pediatrics sponsors this course which aims to prepare prehospital professionals in the management of the pediatric patient. This highly interactive course combines lectures, videos, hands-on skill stations and small group scenarios. The course has a one day BLS format or a two day ALS format.

Pediatric Basic Trauma Life Support (P-BTLS)
This one-day course builds upon a core knowledge base of trauma care. The course emphasizes the practical training needed to assure that the prehospital provider is confident and competent when faced with caring for the critically injured child. The course focuses specifically on prehospital care of the pediatric trauma patient. The Illinois College of Emergency Physicians sponsors P-BTLS which is an approved course of BTLS International.

School Nurse Emergency Care (SNEC)
The Illinois EMSC program sponsors this 3 day course within our state. The targeted audience is specifically school nurses. The course is designed to enhance the assessment and appropriate triaging skills of the school nurse when confronted with the acutely ill or injured child. With the increasing number of urgent health related conditions seen within the changing school environment and the need to assure emergency and disaster preparedness, this course will support the school nurse's core knowledge base in responding to these situations.