Updated on February 26, 2025
Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) from American heart association can change the way you resuscitate the pediatric population. PALS Precourse self-assessment for 2020+ updates include online video lessons which can be watched even before you enter the course classroom. The videos are part of PALS precourse work which can be completed only after finishing PALS precourse self assessment.
If you are not enrolled in the training program already, You may check the upcoming AHA workshops and book one (Indian cities only for now).
Now let’s see what to do before attending PALS. Once enrolled you need to finish a few things before coming for the session.
1. Collect the materials
Collect your manuals and start reading. You must score at least 84% to pass PALS theory part of the exam (conducted at the end of the course, on day 2 of the course). As per AHA rules, every student must be given an original PALS manual as a physical copy or an eBook (as per Training center’s policy. Most of them provide eBook version as physical copies are not yet widely available).
2. PALS PreCourse self-assessment
The PALS Precourse self-assessment takes approximately 3.5 hours online. You can take breaks and finish the next day if you want.
PALS Precourse Self-Assessment is an online tool that evaluates a student’s knowledge before the course to evaluate their proficiency and determine the need for additional review and practice. The student must complete the Precourse Self-Assessment and achieve a score of at least 70% before taking the PALS Course. (Can be attempted multiple times and you can exit anytime and resume later). The student must print their successful completion certificate and bring it with them to class or download the PDF and get it on a phone.
Check the image below for guidance. It’ll ask you to login (1->2->3) or create an account (4). Do it and access (This is not the same account as Medcourse login, it’s a different account that needs to be created). You can also login via social accounts(5) for easy sign-up. Click the link above to understand more).
3. Download the certificate
Once you have logged in, click on Start (seen at the area marked 1 in the image below). If you are coming back after taking a break, it’ll display Resume in that place.
Once you complete the assessment, the status will show as “completed” instead of “in progress” and Action should display as “Review” in case you want to review the assessment again. But the certificate button won’t be active immediately.
Click on survey (Marked 2 on image) and give a feedback on what you think about the experience you had. After you finish the survey, the certificate button (Marked 3 on image) will become red. Click it to download and produce it to your trainer later, on the course day. We recommend going ahead with PALS Precourse work as outlined below.
4. PALS PreCourse work
PALS Precourse Work involves a student reviewing course content through online videos before entering the classroom. The video lessons cover multiple medical subjects and each lesson includes questions to engage the student. This prework allows more classroom time for hands-on skills training and leads to the student being better prepared to participate as soon as they enter the classroom.
5. Plan your commute
Make sure you know the venue / address details –> Reach the venue on time. If it’s not the same city you reside at, better to choose a stay that is closer to the training location. Reaching late to a professional training doesn’t give a good impression.
6. After finishing the course
Finish the course and read “How to download AHA certificates” to know how to find your certificate. Some trainers update the certificate immediately and some take some time to update in the system. Talk to your trainer if you need the certification immediately.
Hope this helps you complete the PALS precourse self-assessment and PALS precourse work with ease.
