The NLS recertification course has been developed using our evidence-based Guidelines and decades of experience in delivering effective resuscitation courses for healthcare professionals. The course aims to help healthcare professionals involved in the delivery and care of a newborn infant requiring assistance.
During the course, you will develop the knowledge and skills required to:
- approach the management of a newborn infant requiring assistance during the first 10 to 20 minutes in a competent manner
- understand the processes underlying apnoea, bradycardia and poor condition at birth
- initiate resuscitation of the newborn infant
- deliver practical airway management and ventilatory support.
Who is the course for?
The NLS recertification course is for healthcare professionals who currently hold a Resuscitation Council UK NLS provider certificate, or whose certificate has expired within the past 12 months.
If your certificate expired more than 12 months ago, you will need to complete the full NLS course.
The Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK) Newborn Life Support (NLS) course is relevant to healthcare professionals, including foundation and specialist trainees, nursing staff and allied health professionals.
This curriculum map has been produced by the RCUK to illustrate the potential key capabilities that may be achieved when undertaking or instructing on an NLS course.
indicates a capability highly likely to be achieved and ( ) indicates a capability that might be achieved by attending or instructing on the relevant RCUK course. Any capability achieved during a RCUK course will need to be accompanied by appropriate supporting evidence, and this responsibility lies with the individual.
This list is not exhaustive and other capabilities may be achieved based upon individual experiences.
Please click on the relevant curriculum or training programme to download how the RCUK NLS course may support the acquisition of key capabilities within specialist learning objectives for career or training progression.
Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health (RCPCH) Progress+
2023 RCPCH Curriculum
2018 RCPCH curriculum
BAPM Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Capabilities Framework
Candidates will undertake pre-course e-learning followed by a half-day of face-to-face learning at one of our course centres.
All of our course centres are approved and certified by Resuscitation Council UK. Courses are run by dedicated and qualified Instructors, who have taken an RCUK Instructor course to guarantee that our courses are uniform and the content remains the same across our course centres.
Pre-course preparation:
Before your course, you will be registered on our Learning Management System (LMS), where you can access the course modules and multiple-choice question (MCQ) paper.
You will receive your course manual in advance. You must read the manual, complete the e-learning modules and achieve a pass mark of 80% in the MCQ paper before attending the face-to-face course. You may take the MCQ multiple times to achieve this.
Programme:
As part of your e-learning, you will complete modules covering the core components of newborn life support. These allow you to learn at your own pace and check your understanding before attending the face-to-face course.
During the face-to-face day, you will develop your practical skills with faculty support and take part in lectures, skill stations and simulations.
Assessment and certification:
During the course, you will be assessed through your performance in clinical simulations. You will be expected to demonstrate competence in the core skills of newborn life support, including initial assessment, airway management and chest compressions.
At the end of the course, you will complete a practical NLS test to demonstrate these skills.
If you successfully complete the course, you will be awarded a Resuscitation Council UK NLS provider certificate, valid for four years and recognised across healthcare settings in the UK and Europe.
This course is recognised as continuing professional development (CPD) by the Medical, Dental and Nursing Royal Colleges and the Health Care Professional Council. Please contact your registering body for further information.
The first step is to find a course centre near you. Below, you’ll find an area where you can search for local courses and find out how to get in touch with the organiser.
Course fees are decided locally by the course centre; Resuscitation Council UK only charges the course centre £31.57 per candidate registration and £19.80 per NLS manual.
Courses often book quickly, so we would advise planning your attendance well in advance of when you want to train.
The NLS Recertification (NLSr) course is designed for experienced clinicians who have previously completed an NLS course and are expected, within their role, to attend births and manage newborns.
NLS provider certificates are valid for four years. To attend an NLSr course, you must either:
- hold a currently valid NLS provider certificate, or
- be within one year of its expiry (i.e. within five years of your original certification date).
If your certificate expired more than one year ago, you are not eligible for NLSr and will need to attend the full one-day NLS course.
If you are undertaking NLS for the first time, you must complete the one-day NLS course.
For recertification, you may choose to attend either the one-day NLS course or the half-day NLSr course. This decision is typically guided by local requirements and individual learning needs, in discussion with your employer or supervisor.
If you are unsuccessful on the NLSr course, it is recommended that you complete the full one-day NLS course, which provides additional teaching and support.
The cost of the course is set locally by the Course Centre; it includes the cost of registration and the course materials (which are provided by the RCUK).
Yes, CPD points are available according to the table below. If you have any further queries regarding CPD points, please contact the Royal Colleges directly.
CPD points | ||
|---|---|---|
Provider course | Candidates | Faculty |
| ALS (two day course) | 10 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
| e-ALS (one day course) | 5 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
| ALS recertification (one day course) | 5 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
| EPALS (2-day) | 10 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
| NLS / OH-NLS / NLS recertification | 5 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
| ARNI (two day course) | 10 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
| ILS (one day course) | 5 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
| PILS (one day course) | 5 | 5 (max 10 in any one year) |
For accreditation of other healthcare staff, please see ‘continuing professional development statement' in ‘related documents.’
ALS qualification:
You can recertify by attending one of the following courses:
- two-day ALS course
- e-ALS
- ALS modular course
- one-day ALS recertification course
- half-day ALS recertification short course.
You are unable to undertake the one-day ALS Recertification or the half-day ALS Recertification Short Course if more than one year has passed since your last course certificate expiry date. The ‘ALS recertification’ course is not recommended if you are not practicing the skills within your current job role.
ARNI qualification:
You may recertify by attending the ARNI Provider course.
EPALS qualification:
You may recertify by attending:
- a full EPALS course
- day two of an EPALS course, (please note, your current EPALS certificate must still be in date to recertify on day two of the course)
You may only recertify on day two of the course if your current EPALS certificate is still be in date. If your certificate is not in date, you will need to attend the one-day course.
NLS qualification:
You may recertify by attending the:
- one-day NLS course
- half-day NLS recertification course
You have up to one year after your NLS provider certificate expires to recertify using the NLS recertification course. If more than one year has passed since your certificate expired, you will need to complete the full one-day NLS course.
ILS qualification:
You may recertify by attending the:
- one-day ILS course
- half-day ILS recertification course
You may only attend the half-day recertification course if it is within one year of the expiry date of your most recent ILS certificate. If more than two years have passed since the date of your last ILS certificate, you will need to attend the one-day course.
PILS qualification:
You may recertify by attending the:
- one-day PILS course
- half-day PILS recertification course.
You may only attend the half-day recertification course if it is within one year of the expiry date of your most recent PILS certificate. If more than two years have passed since the date of your last PILS certificate, you will need to attend the one-day course.
ALS, ARNI, EPALS, NLS, ILS, PILS qualifications:
You have one year from the expiry date of your course certificate, which you can recertify your qualification.
NLSR:
You have up to one year after your NLS provider certificate expires to recertify using the NLSr course. If more than one year has passed since your certificate expired, you will need to complete the full one-day NLS course.