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SickKids

CPR & Resuscitation Training for Providers

The Resuscitation Education Program provides basic and advanced life support training for SickKids staff, families and community members. The program has been providing Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and resuscitation training since 2005, which started with in-house Basic Life Support (BLS) training.  Over time, the program expanded its offerings to include Heartsaver, Standard First Aid (SFA), Paediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Paediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition and Stabilization (PEARS) and a Friends and Family CPR training course.

The Resuscitation Education Program provides a high-quality educational experience by using evidence based instructional tools and CPR feedback mannequins. Learners at all levels are coached until they can meet the national standards for CPR quality, aided by the ability to receive feedback on several metrics such as compression depth, rate, recoil and compression fraction. 

The program leads several resuscitation education initiatives and programing throughout SickKids in collaboration with the Simulation Program and the Resuscitation Oversight Committee. Examples of these initiatives include; resuscitation team training throughout the in-patient and ambulatory areas, CAB blitzes, hospital-wide mock codes and Resuscitation Week events.

Basic Life Support (BLS) Provider Course

Those who complete the BLS Provider Course will be able to:

  • Describe the importance of high-quality CPR and its impact on survival.
  • Describe all the steps of the Chain of Survival.
  • Apply the BLS concepts to the Chain of Survival.
  • Recognize the signs of someone needing CPR.
  • Perform high-quality CPR for adult, child and infant.
  • Demonstrates the appropriate use of AED.
  • Provide effective ventilation by using a barrier device.
  • Describe the importance of teams in multi-rescuer CPR.
  • Perform as an effective team member during multi-rescuer CPR.

Describe the technique for relief of foreign-body airway obstruction for an adult, child and infant.

This program is for SickKids healthcare provider staff requiring BLS Training and is also available for external groups upon request. SickKids students with an active Windows Account can register for a BLS Certification Class only after contacting resuscitation.program@sickkids.ca and an invoice is processed and paid. Only students who register as described above will be permitted to attend training.

  • Log onto iLearn with your Windows Username and Password
  • Go to “My Plan”
  • Next to “My Plan” at the top select “Actions” Drop down arrow
  • Select add to Learning
  • Select “Add to Plan”
  • Select next
  • Search Catalog: BLS
  • Select the “Action Arrow” for the BLS Provider Course (current year) certification
  • Select “Add to Plan”
  • Once added to your plan page, click on the certification and then select “View Classes”
  • You can register for both the BLS Pretest (currently year) and the in-class session

This course is being offered for groups upon request (minimum of 6 participants is required for setting up a course) for more information please email resuscitation.program@sickkids.ca.


BLS Provider Renewal Course

The BLS Renewal course is a fast-paced course that allows the experienced BLS provider (those who are confident in their BLS skills through regular use in their work in the ED, CCU, ICU on code team, or paramedics and first responders) the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge through written and skills assessment in a concentrated program.

Students need to come prepared. The 2-hour BLS Renewal course is fast-paced, assumes you have retained the cognitive knowledge learned in the Heart and Stroke BLS Provider course and can demonstrate skills mastery. There will be limited practice and limited opportunities for remedial coaching.

All participants are expected to be highly proficient BLS providers. This is not an entry-level course, those students who are unsuccessful in the skills or knowledge test will have to take a full BLS Provider course.

H&S BLS Card is valid (i.e. within 12 months of issue date) or complete and pass the BLS Renewal Prerequisite Challenge on the Heart & Stroke Website.

BLS Instructor Course (Health-Care Provider Level)

The BLS Instructor course will provide the knowledge and skill necessary to teach the required curriculum for Heart and Stroke Foundation BLS courses. The course provides an overview of the responsibilities of a Heart and Stroke Instructor, instructor materials including video and lesson maps, review of adult learning principles, and practice skills testing and use of evaluation tools.

Learn more or register for BLS Instructor course


Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) 

NRP is an educational program that introduces the concepts and skills of neonatal resuscitation. In Canada, NRP is administered by the Canadian Paediatric Society and is designed to teach individuals and teams who may be required to resuscitate newborn babies. NRP course content is evidence-based and delivered across Canada. 

Learn more or register for NRP 2025


Paediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) Provider Course

PALS is an advanced course that is instructor-led and video guided. The program highlights the systematic approach to the assessment of a paediatric patient. This includes considerations for basic life supports, treatment algorithms, and effective resuscitation.

Concurrently, there is a focus on team dynamics to enhance the quality of care provision to ill or injured children. This course is highly interactive using a blend of didactic, case presentations, and simulations to practice the required skills. You will work in interprofessional teams and learn from an interprofessional group of facilitators.

This course is intended for health care providers who respond to cardiopulmonary emergencies in a variety of paediatric settings, including; emergency room, critical care unit, in-patient ward, ambulatory clinics, EMS, etc. This course is intended for individuals who have work experience in the paediatric population.

  • PALS Pre-Course Self-Assessment test with a successful score of 70% or greater.
  • Proof of Heart & Stroke BLS Provider Completion within the past 12 months.

PALS Provider Renewal Course

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Proof of Heart & Stroke BLS Provider Completion Card within previous 12 months.
  • Proof of PALS Provider Competion Card within previous 24 months.
  • Complete PALS Pre-Course Self-Assessment test with a successful score of 70% or greater.

Learn more or register for PALS 2024 Provider Renewal course

Learn more or register for PALS 2025 Provider Renewal course


PALS Provider Blended Course

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Proof of Heart & Stroke BLS Provider Completion Card within the past 12 months.
  • Complete PALS Pre-Course Self-Assessment test with a successful score of 70% or greater.
  • Complete PALS Provider Blended Part 1 module, including passing of the written exam with a score of 84% or greater (two attempts to pass).

Learn more or register for PALS 2024 Provider Blended course

Learn more or register for PALS 2025 Provider Blended course


PALS Instructor Course

The PALS Instructor Course has two modules, the Core Instructor Course and the Specific module on PALS course delivery and materials. The Core Instructor Course is a foundation course required by all Heart and Stroke Foundation Instructor-Candidates. The course teaches Instructor-Candidates how to apply effective communication techniques, manage the classroom environment, and promote knowledge and skill transfer and retention.

The Specific PALS module introduces the Instructor-Candidate to the educational materials and course outlines utilized in the delivery of the Heart and Stroke Foundation PALS provider and renewal course.

Learn more or register for PALS Instructor course


Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support  (ACLS) Provider - Blended Course

The PEARS Provider Course prepares healthcare providers caring for pediatric patients with foundational skills to assess, recognize, and participate in the initial management of respiratory and/or cardiovascular emergencies and cardiopulmonary arrest. Active case-based instruction will be used to teach students to provide appropriate lifesaving interventions within the initial minutes after response until the child is transferred to an advanced life support provider.

The Heart & Stroke PEARS Course is for healthcare professionals and others who might encounter pediatric emergency situations during their work, including Physicians and nurses not specializing in pediatrics, Nurse practitioners, Physician assistants, EMS, Respiratory therapists, Prehospital and in-facility healthcare providers (outside of critical-care areas), Outpatient clinic staff, School-based providers and any other healthcare professional who infrequently sees critically ill or injured infants and children.

Proof of Heart & Stroke BLS Provider Completion Card within previous 12 months.

Paediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition and Stabilization (PEARS)

The PEARS Provider Course prepares healthcare providers caring for pediatric patients with foundational skills to assess, recognize, and participate in the initial management of respiratory and/or cardiovascular emergencies and cardiopulmonary arrest. Active case-based instruction will be used to teach students to provide appropriate lifesaving interventions within the initial minutes after response until the child is transferred to an advanced life support provider.

The Heart & Stroke PEARS Course is for healthcare professionals and others who might encounter pediatric emergency situations during their work, including Physicians and nurses not specializing in pediatrics, Nurse practitioners, Physician assistants, EMS, Respiratory therapists, Prehospital and in-facility healthcare providers (outside of critical-care areas), Outpatient clinic staff, School-based providers and any other healthcare professional who infrequently sees critically ill or injured infants and children.

Proof of Heart & Stroke BLS Provider Completion Card within previous 12 months.

Contact us

Please contact us if you have any question regarding the courses we provide or need assistance with registration.

Phone: 416-813-7654 ext. 414658
Email: resuscitation.program@sickkids.ca

To contact instructor if you are running late or will be absent - Training Room 2447 Black Wing, 416-813-7654 ext 201175 

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