PACED: Paediatric Assessment of Clinical Emergencies & Deterioration

The PACED course is ideal for all healthcare professionals seeking to improve their skills in assessing and managing paediatric clinical emergencies. Through a series of 4 webinars, you will delve into a comprehensive exploration of paediatric emergencies, factors for clinical deterioration, and effective patient assessment.

Key learning areas will cover:

• paediatric anatomy and physiology: understand the key differences compared to adults

• pathways of deterioration in childhood illness: examine how physiological factors lead to deterioration

• physiological parameters: understand how to monitor and interpret vital signs in paediatric patients

• common causes of hospital presentations: identify and know how to manage common paediatric emergencies

• case studies: follow clinical cases from presentation to deterioration and intervention, including anaphylaxis scenarios

Over 4 live webinars, expert paediatric critical care educator, Grace Larson (RN, BN, CertIV(TAE), GradDipClinNurs(PaedCritCare), MAdNursPrac(PaedCritCare)), will present 9 case studies:

Webinar 1: May 13th 2-3pm AEST

• respiratory distress

• exacerbation of asthma 

Webinar 2: May 20th 2-3pm AEST

• seizures

• poisoning 

Webinar 3: May 27th 2-3pm AEST

• head trauma 

• massive bleeding

Webinar 4: June 3rd 2-3pm AEST

• dehydration 

• congenital heart defects

• anaphylaxis

 At the conclusion of this course, you will be able to:

• identify the early warning signs and common indicators of clinical deterioration in children, including vital sign changes, behavioural shifts, and respiratory distress

• understand age-specific physiology, vital signs, and how the presentation of clinical deterioration can vary between infants, toddlers, and older children

• utilise structured frameworks such as the paediatric assessment triangle (PAT) or ABCDE approach for rapid assessment, to quickly identify children at risk of deterioration

• employ effective communication strategies for escalating care, including using standardised tools like ISBAR (identify, situation, background, assessment, recommendation) to engage other health professionals promptly when paediatric deterioration is identified

• initiate appropriate immediate interventions to stabilise a deteriorating child, including emergency response protocols and basic life support measures

• apply critical thinking and decision-making skills in the context of managing paediatric deterioration

In addition to the 1-hour live webinars, this course is supported by self-paced eLearning modules and videos demonstrating key clinical skills.