Standardized care procedures for vulnerable newborns ensure consistently low mortality rates nationwide.
The Neonatal Resuscitation Program and Neonatal Advanced Life Support -- training courses for health care professionals -- teach the skills required for cardiopulmonary assessment and resuscitation of newborns.
NRP
The NRP curriculum -- jointly designed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association -- addresses the need for standardized national instruction in neonatal critical care. Using content based on modules from the Neonatal Educational Program of the Drew Postgraduate Medical School in Los Angeles, NRP instruction can be adapted to suit the trainee.
NALS
NALS training, administered by the American Academy of Physician Assistants, delivers the same syllabus as NRP, has similar flexibility in its format, and equips trainees with identical knowledge and skills.
Equivalence
In 2005, the AHA and AAP produced official neonatal resuscitation guidelines based on the existing NRP syllabus, with some modifications. The guidelines provide detailed instruction in acute care of newborns in cardiopulmonary distress. Both NRP and NALS deliver information in accordance with these guidelines and, therefore, contain identical content. Health care employers looking for candidates with training in these skills recognize NRP and NALS as equivalent.
Tags: nals, same, American Academy
