<p>Retention of Basic-Life-Support Knowledge and Skills in Second-Year Medical Students</p>

Abstract

Basic life support (BLS) training is crucial in improvement of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) outcomes. Many studies have demonstrated improvement of skills after BLS training but the skills significantly decrease over time. Our study aimed to evaluate the retention of knowledge and skills after training following 2010 BLS guidelines in second year medical students at Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University. Materials and Methods: One hundred and forty-nine second-year medical students were enrolled in the prospective cohort study. Participants were tested for knowledge and skills of BLS prior to training (pre-test), immediately after training (post-test) and six months after training (retention test). Results: The mean scores of pre-test, immediate post-test and retention-test were 8.52 (SD 1.88), 12.12 (SD 1.52) and 10.83 (SD 1.95), respectively. Improvement in knowledge score post-test and retention test were 3.60 (95% CI 3.22,3.99 P<0.001) and 2.31 (95% CI 1.92,2.70 P<0.001) respectively, compared with pre-test score. In post-test, detection skill, activation skill and compression skill were improved 1.67 (95% CI 1.28,2.19 P<0.001), 5.15 (95% CI 3.41,7.77 P<0.001) and 3.88 times (95% CI 2.24,6.71 P<0.001) compared with pretest evaluation. Comparison between retention test and pre-test was improved detection skill 1.72 (95% CI 1.31,2.26 P<0.001), activation skill 4.4 (95% CI 2.93,6.75 P<0.001) and compression skill 2.56 (95% CI 1.44,4.57 P=0.001). Knowledge decreased 1.29 times in retention test compared with post-test (95% CI −1.67,0.92 P<0.001). In retention test, detection skill increased 1.03 times (95% CI 0.81,1.29 P = 0.810), activation skill decreased 0.86 times (95% CI 0.98,1.10 P =0.24) and compression skill decreased 0.66 times (95% CI 0.45,0.98 P=0.04) compared with post-test. Conclusion: Knowledge and skills of BLS significantly improved after training in second year medical students. However, the knowledge decreased at 6 months after training although the BLS skills still remained.

Awareness of basic life support among undergraduate medical students in Syria, Iraq and Jordan: a cross sectional study

“…In contrast to gender, the results showed that attendance a BLS course previously had signi cant effect on knowledge level. Similar results were reported from Oman, [13] United Kingdom, [18] Pakistan [15] and Thailand [19]. In this study, the numbers of participants who received training about BLS and had knowledge of CPR (massage rate, massage location, massage depth and massage/ventilation rate) were higher than those who did not receive training.…”

“…There was a signi cant difference between the participants from different countries where the mean score in Syria, Jordan and Iraq was 18.3, 24.3 and 18.8 respectively (p < 0.05). The participants were divided into 3 level according to total score; low (0-12), moderate (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24) and high (25-37). In total, 18.3%, 72.8% and 8.9% of participants had high, intermediate and low level respectively.…”

“…[23] The knowledge of BLS can decreased at 6 months after training as seen in Winchana et al study. [19] Therefore, students should be reviewed the principles of BLS continually and keep up to date with the latest guidelines. Regarding universities, the results showed that universities of Jordan achieved the rst six ranks, while there is only one Syrian university among the top 10 universities.…”

Basic Life Support Training: The Effectiveness and Retention of The Distance-Learning Method

“…Moreover, Sufiyah et al reported a decrease in BLS skills after the conventional learning method. They found that a year post-training, only 26% of medical students could complete all BLS steps, and less than 50% of the participants successfully did 3 out of 10 assessment points (23,24).…”

What can be learned from the literature about intervals and strategies for paediatric CPR retraining of healthcare professionals? A scoping review of literature

“…9 , 20 However, despite initial learning acquisition straight after training, CPR skills normally decay within weeks after initial training. 16 , 54 Although some providers retain CPR skills through recurring exposure to managing cardiac arrests as part of their clinical practice, 55 most paediatric providers go through long periods of clinical practice without performing pCPR due to the low incidence of cardiac arrest in this population. 18 Therefore, it becomes very important to establish retraining intervals to ensure that pCPR skills are maintained for longer.…”