Pediatric advanced life support (PALS) courses in Israel: ten years of experience.
BACKGROUND
The Pediatric Advanced Life Support course of the American Heart Association/American Academy of Pediatrics was established in Israel in 1994 and has since been presented to over 3,108 medical and paramedical personnel.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the achievements of participants in the PALS course, as a cohort and by professional group, and their evaluations of different aspects of the course; and to describe the educational modifications introduced to the course since its introduction in Israel based on our teaching experience.


METHODS
The study sample consisted of physicians, nurses and paramedics from all areas of Israel who registered for PALS between January 2001 and December 2003. Participants took a standardized test before and after the course; a score of 80 or higher was considered a pass. On completion of the course, participants were requested to complete a 24-item questionnaire evaluating the quality of the course as a whole, as well as the lectures, skill stations, and instructors' performance. Items were rated on a 5-point scale. Results were analyzed using the BMPD statistical package.


RESULTS
Altogether, 739 subjects participated in 28 courses: 13 attending (in-hospital) physicians (1.8%), 89 community pediatricians (12%), 124 residents (16.8%), 304 nurses (41.1%), and 209 paramedics (28.3%). About half (48.9%) were hospital-based, and about half (47.9%) had no experience in emergency medicine. A passing grade was achieved by 89.4% of the participants; the mean grade for the whole sample was 87.2%. The mean test score of the residents was significantly better than that of the nurses (P < 0.05) and pediatricians (P < 0.01). The median evaluation score for four of the five stations was 5, and the mean overall score for all items was 4.56 (range by item 3.93-4.78).


CONCLUSIONS
PALS was successfully delivered to a large number of healthcare providers in various professional groups with very good overall achievements and high participant satisfaction. It significantly increased participants' knowledge of pediatric resuscitation. We therefore recommend the PALS course as an educational tool in Israel.
Waisman
Yehezkel
Y
Unit of Emergency Medicine, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tiqva, Israel. waisy@clalit.org.il
Amir
Lisa
L
Mor
Meirav
M
Mimouni
Marc
M
D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008021:Life Support Systems; D010372:Pediatrics; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000193:education*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires