1. Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition, and Stabilization
PEARS®
Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition, and Stabilization 1

2. What Is PEARS?
Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition, and Stabilization, or PEARS, was originally released in October It was created to bridge the gap between BLS and PALS providers. Many providers deal with critically ill or injured children on an infrequent basis. These providers need more training than what is taught in a BLS course but do not need the advanced level of training of a PALS course. This course teaches providers how to recognize a child with certain respiratory or circulatory problems and how to stabilize the child until advanced care is available.

3. Who Are PEARS Students? Primary Audience
Emergency medical responders/EMT-Bs
Intermediate EMTs
School nurses, medical/surgical nurses
Secondary Audience
Paramedics/critical nurses (off year for PALS)
Urgent care centers
PEARS is a basic- to intermediate-level course. Here is a look at some of the providers who would benefit from this course:
Emergency medical responders (formerly known as first responders)
Emergency medical technicians
School nurses
Medical/surgical nurses
Medical clinic personnel
Respiratory therapists
Athletic trainers
More advanced providers might find the course beneficial as a refresher of their assessment skills, but this course is not a substitute for those who are required to have the advanced resuscitation skills taught in PALS. Students new to pediatric resuscitation might find it beneficial to take the PEARS Course before taking the PALS Course to develop their pediatric assessment skills.

4. PEARS Course Objectives
Pediatric assessment
Assessment and management of respiratory problems
Recognition and management of shock
Identification and management of cardiac arrest
Resuscitation team concept
You can see that the course focuses on assessment, evaluation, and recognition of the type of problem encountered. Emphasis is placed on recognizing if the child’s condition needs to be evaluated by advanced-level providers and requesting that advanced help. The course encourages facilities or EMS services to integrate any scoring tools or protocols used to determine when to request advanced care.
Basic, initial management and stabilization of the child is discussed, with a focus on the things providers can do to stabilize the child until advanced-level providers are available. Effective team concepts and dynamics are also reinforced.

5. Who Can Teach PEARS? Any PALS Instructor
PEARS Instructors: Must have a PALS Instructor available as a “course advisor”
Any PALS Instructor can teach PEARS. As a PALS Instructor, you have a vast amount of advanced knowledge. PEARS is designed as a much more basic course than PALS. Because of your knowledge, it is tempting to teach the course at a much higher level than designed. Adding content that is beyond the scope of the PEARS Course should be avoided. PEARS students will not be functioning at the advanced level, and adding advanced content can be overwhelming to the students and could have negative, unintended consequences.
In April 2013, the AHA introduced the PEARS Instructor status. Because many new PEARS Instructors might not have the knowledge to answer questions that might arise during a course, each PEARS Course will need a “course advisor.” A course advisor is any PALS Instructor. Because PALS Instructors can also teach PEARS, if a PALS Instructor is teaching a PEARS Course, he or she can act as the course advisor. If there is not a PALS Instructor teaching the PEARS Course, a PALS Instructor should be available. The course advisor does not have to be physically present for the course, only available for immediate contact (text, phone, instant message, etc) from the PEARS Instructor.
If you are going to teach PEARS or act as a course advisor for a PEARS Course, it is highly recommended that you take the PEARS Instructor Course online to become familiar with the course.

6. PEARS Materials
All the materials you need to teach the PEARS Course are available in the PEARS Instructor Package. The new package includes 1 DVD set, posters, a stopwatch, a new item called a Read Me First card, and—most importantly—an Instructor Manual and a Provider Manual.
To learn more about the available materials, visit the PEARS product page at

7. Structure and Design
Course length varies depending on which optional lessons are taught in the course. The full PEARS Course is approximately 6 hours, and the Update Course is approximately 5 hours.
The PEARS Course is very video intensive. Multiple video clips of critically ill children are shown to allow students the opportunity to work through the pediatric systematic approach to assessment. The instructor facilitates these discussions by using the scenario cards provided. The course is designed to have these discussions as large groups, small groups, or case simulations. The flexibility of the course allows instructors to tailor the course to meet the needs of the students.
The 1- and 2-Rescuer Child BLS With AED and 1- and 2-Rescuer Infant BLS Skills Tests are the only skills tests required in the PEARS Course. A written exam is also required.
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8. Guided Education
After each case scenario is presented in the course, instructors have the option to play additional assessment pieces for the students. Students can look at the cardiac monitor, listen to breath sounds, check capillary refill, or watch the video clip again. These features help students formulate their primary assessment of the child. 8

9. PEARS Update Course Includes new trauma segment
New content allows for CE
The PEARS Update Course is for students who need to renew their PEARS Provider status. The update course includes a new segment on trauma that follows the 2010 AHA and American Red Cross Guidelines for First Aid. The new content allows facilities to apply for continuing education credit from their accrediting institutions.
The trauma segment involves skills practice, including bag-mask ventilation with simultaneous stabilization of the head and neck.
DRAFT - For Internal Use Only
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10. Video-Based Written Exam
The PEARS Course exam is a video-based written exam. Students watch clips of videos and answer questions related to the video. The written questions for the exam can be obtained from your Training Center Coordinator.
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11. Continuing Education EMS CEHs available: Full course: 6.00 Basic CEHs
Update course: Core is 5.50 Basic CEHs; additional CE is determined by number of optional modules taught
For physicians and nurses: CE credit must be applied for by the Training Center
The PEARS Course is approved for EMS providers through the Continuing Education Coordinating Board for Emergency Medical Services (CECBEMS). Continuing education is not available for physicians and nurses through the AHA. Individual instructors or Training Centers can apply for continuing education for physicians and nurses by using their institution’s continuing education approval process.
To submit EMS continuing education, use the EMS Student CE link on the Instructor Network. It will be the same process as for PALS on the Instructor Network through the EMS Student CE link.

12. Questions?