RCUK European Paediatric Advanced Life Support (EPALS)

2-Day EPALS Course 

EPALS is an advanced course that trains healthcare professionals in the early recognition of the child in respiratory or circulatory failure and management of a cardiac arrest. EPALS provides the knowledge and skills needed to prevent further deterioration and helps to save young lives.

The EPALS course is a collaboration between the Resuscitation Council UK and the European Resuscitation Council. It is endorsed by the Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health (RCPCH) and approved by the Royal Colleges of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), and Anaesthetics (RCoA), as well as the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists (APAGBI). 

This is the ideal course for people who are receiving their EPALS certification for the first time. It is also used as a recertification course. 

Over two days, you’ll enhance your practical skills with simulations and workshops and broaden your understanding of EPALS with lectures and skill stations. 

During the course, you will develop the knowledge and skills required to:

• Recognise and manage the deteriorating child using a structured ABCDE approach;
• Deliver standardised CPR in children;
• Manage the critically ill child, including those in cardiac arrest, by working with a multidisciplinary team in an emergency situation;
• Become an effective and confident team member and leader by utilising non-technical skills.

Before your course, you will be registered on the RCUK Learning Management System (LMS). Here, you can access course modules, a pre-course multiple-choice question (MCQ) paper.

Candidates will receive their course manual one month before the course. Candidates are expected to read the manual in preparation for the course and submit a completed pre-course MCQ paper before the course begins. 

Please note, manuals cannot be posted internationally, but you will receive an electronic link to all of the information (books will be provided on the day of the course in these instances). 

The EPALS course is designed for healthcare professionals who need skills in managing deteriorating patients and cardiac arrests. It is for individuals who use skills in advanced paediatric life support as part of their clinical duties, as well as those who teach on a regular basis. This includes doctors, nurses and paramedics.

All applicants must hold a professional healthcare qualification or be in training for a professional healthcare qualification. Medical students in their final year of training can be accepted as candidates if this is an established local arrangement.