Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) versus Emergency Nurse Pediatric Course (ENPC) Explained

You care for medical and major trauma pediatric patients in the ER. You want to take a good peds course, and maybe you are wondering if you should take a PALS or ENPC course. Or both?  Many nurses have felt stressed caring for pediatric emergency patients and are dissatisfied with their knowledge and skills for caring for this population. The complexity of the care of the pediatric patient requires specialized education, yet many emergency nurses lack this. In addition, most emergency nurses have limited experience in pediatrics. So which training course will set nurses and other medical professionals up for success when administering to children? Let’s explore PALS vs. ENPC to identify which courses are right for you.

What is PALS? 

PALS was developed by the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1988 as a specialty certification that specifically teaches medical professionals life-saving care to infants and children. PALS is not designed for the critically ill neonate and is not used in the NICU setting, the nursery in a hospital that provides around-the-clock care to sick or preterm babies. It is designed for healthcare providers who respond to emergencies in infants and children and for personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care, and critical care units. PALS is more fundamental than ENPC and concentrates on airway and cardiac life support, like ACLS for infants and children.  

What does a PALS course teach?

Our ACLS Academy, PALS Provider Course, aims to improve outcomes for pediatric patients by preparing healthcare providers to properly assess patients with respiratory emergencies, shock, and cardiopulmonary arrest, provide advanced interventions, and utilize scenarios while applying critical thinking skills. The course includes a series of case scenario practices with simulations reinforcing essential concepts.

After successfully completing a PALS course, students will be able to:

• Perform high‐quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) per American Heart Association (AHA) basic life support (BLS) recommendations

• Differentiate between patients who do and do not require immediate intervention

• Recognize cardiopulmonary arrest early and begin CPR within 10 seconds

• Apply team dynamics

• Differentiate between respiratory distress and failure

• Perform early interventions for respiratory distress and failure

• Differentiate between compensated and decompensated (hypotensive) shock

• Perform early interventions for the treatment of shock

• Differentiate between unstable and stable patients with arrhythmias

• Describe clinical characteristics of instability in patients with arrhythmias

• Implement post-cardiac arrest management

What is ENPC?  

ENPC is a course designed to provide core-level pediatric knowledge and psychomotor skills needed to care for pediatric patients. 

Although Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS, American Heart Association) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS, American Heart Association) have been available since the1980s, they did not focus on the nurse's role. Instead, these courses focused primarily on pediatric resuscitation, which is required by only a small percentage of pediatric patients seeking emergency care. In 1991, the Emergency Nurses Association formed its pediatric committee in response to a request from its membership for a greater focus on pediatric emergency care. As Pediatric patients often react more severely to physically traumatic events because of the size of their bodies and the lack of strength of some of their bodily systems, their healthcare provider community understood specialized training would be highly beneficial. The pediatric committee conducted a needs assessment which overwhelmingly supported the need for a pediatric emergency course. Thus, the Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course (ENPC) was developed and implemented in 1993. The goal of the ENPC is to improve the care of the pediatric patient as well as to improve the skill and confidence of the nurse providing the care in the emergency department setting and is similar to the Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) except that it is designed for the especially fragile pediatric population.   

What does an ENPC course cover?

ACLS Academy’s ENPC is an 18-hour course designed to provide core-level pediatric knowledge and psychomotor skills needed to care for pediatric patients in the emergency setting. The course presents a systematic assessment model, integrates anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology, and identifies appropriate interventions. The Emergency Nurse Association’s (ENA) Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course allows participants to strengthen and develop their pediatric emergency nursing skills while expanding their personal growth by collaborating with nurses from various practice settings. ENPC brings together participants from various emergency department settings and nurses in other nursing specialties. Course materials include the newly released 5th Edition with added content on dermatologic and environmental emergencies, human trafficking, and food allergies; it will be a great resource for you even after completing the course.

Course content covers: 

• Early patient assessment

• Systematic assessment of the pediatric patient

• Pediatric pathophysiology

• Pediatric triage

• Early interventions

• Family presence

• Pediatric care from birth through the teenage years

The course is taught using a variety of formats, including online modules, live simulations, patient experience videos, and instructor-led classroom discussions and skills stations that encourage participants to integrate their psychomotor abilities into a patient situation in a risk-free setting.  Upon successful course completion, you will receive a 4-year, internationally recognized verification as an ENPC provider and earn 18.25 contact hours of CNE.

Now deciding which course to take

Even if you’ve worked with adult populations for years, you may be surprised at the differences in caring for younger populations. Taking a training course specific to their care is prudent.  For medical professionals who need a good overview of pediatric care, PALS will provide training for administering to pediatric patients experiencing life-threatening medical emergencies. ACLS Academy provides a flexible schedule of PALS courses at multiple locations on the South Shore, including Quincy, East Bridgewater, and Newton Center.

However, if you are a nurse, ENPC is an extremely informative class designed especially for nurses in pediatric fields, representing the newest guidelines in pediatric trauma care as designated by the ENA. By taking the ENPC course, you’ll feel more confident in the nursing care that you are giving and take your nursing practice to the next level with continuing certifications that recognize your dedication to your important field.  Ready to take this next step?  Sign up for an ACLS Academy ENPC course today.