AHA HeartCode PALS Skills Session Only (Online Portion Purchased Separately from AHA) — Durham, NC · Oct 22, 2026

The American Heart Association’s PALS course builds on the foundation of lifesaving BLS skills, emphasizing the importance of preventing cardiac arrest, early and continuous high-quality CPR, and high-performing teams. The course reflects science and education from the 2025 American Heart Association Guidelines for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC).

The HeartCode format is a blended learning delivery method, which consists of students completing an online course prior to an in-person skills test. You must complete the HeartCode PALS online portion (purchased separately for $173) prior to your testing session, as the certificate of completion is due at check-in. If you have not yet completed the course online, you can find the link to purchase here: https://shopcpr.heart.org/heartcode-pals

Intended Audience

The PALS Course is for healthcare providers who either direct or participate in the management of respiratory and/or cardiovascular emergencies and cardiopulmonary arrest in pediatric patients, and for personnel in emergency response.

What does this course teach?

After successfully completing this course, students should be able to:

• Dsicuss the science of pediatric resuscitation
• Recognize cardiac arrest and perform prompt, high quality CPR and AED use on pediatrics
• Understand the systemic approach to care
• Understand secondary assessment
• Discuss and implement in practice team dynamics
• Recognize respiratory emergencies and perform airway managements
• Cover respiratory video case discussions
• Cover shock video case discussions
• Discuss and practice management of shock
• Recognize and manage care for arrhythmia emergencies
• Cover arrhythmia video case discussions
• Recognize rhythm disturbances and perform electrical therapy skills practice
• Describe post cardiac arrest management

Is there a required textbook for this course?

Yes, the AHA requires that all students have a student manual for the course, however, the PALS Provider Manual eBook is included in the purchase of the HeartCode PALS Online Course.