Optimus CORE - Clinical Observation and Response to Emergencies

Optimus Clinical Observation and Response to Emergencies (CORE) teaches emergency health care staff how to provide basic life support to patients. The course is a mix of individual e-learning content and an in-person course.

You should do the Optimus CORE training before Optimus PRIME or PULSE.

Who the course is for

Optimus CORE is useful for all health care staff who are involved in paediatric emergency care including:

• first level responders such as doctors and nurses who are involved in the first 10 minutes of care
• second level responders who provide ongoing bedside care
• staff who are new to paediatric care.

It's also helpful as a refresher course for paediatric care providers to make sure their skills and knowledge are up to date.

Learning outcomes

Optimus CORE teaches you how to:

• recognise and treat a patient when their condition is getting worse
• respond to paediatric emergencies

It includes practical training for:

• giving basic and advanced life support including CPR
• giving emergency medicines using paediatric drug calculators
• treating and assessing children who are choking or can’t breathe
• providing airway, breathing and circulatory support

The course uses real life case studies of bronchiolitis, gastroenteritis, cardiac arrest and seizures. It includes content about teamwork and how to manage human factors such as communication and stress when providing critical care. There is also information about how to work and communicate with your patient's parent or carer.

Course structure

Optimus CORE is delivered in 2 parts.

1. Individual online e-learning course
2. In-person training

The e-learning course is self-paced and includes a test on basic life support.

You have to do the e-learning course before you can do the in-person training.

Enrol in the e-learning course

You and your staff can enrol in the e-learning course using iLearn on the Queensland Health website.

1. Register for an account.
2. Search for Optimus CORE.
3. Select Enrol.
4. Launch the course.

You’ll get a certificate of completion within 48 hours of finishing the course. You'll need to bring the certificate to your in-person training.

In-person course

Contact your local paediatric educator to take part in the Optimus CORE course.

Hospitals and paediatric medical experts can host the in-person training using our training resources and instructor's manual.

We can also help you provide the training to your staff. Use our online form to contact us and find out more.

Training resources

Optimus CORE resources are free and open access.

Instructor Resources

Please download our Optimus Faculty Resource for access to all instructor manuals, certificates and PowerPoint presentations.

Tips for instructors

• Review the e-learning course and the instructor’s manual
• Choose a qualified staff member to manage each medical station included in the course and present the case study PowerPoint presentation
• Email participants the time, date and location of the training
• Ensure participants have registered for iLearn and completed the e-learning course
• Print out colour copies of the printable resources from Section 5 of the instructor’s manual PDF for each participant

You should also prepare an in-person training certificate of completion for each participant. Use our online form to get a copy.

Get support

If you’d like more information or need help running the training course, contact us using our online form.

Give feedback

Your feedback helps us improve our courses and learning content.

If you have delivered the course to your staff please use our instructor feedback form.