Effect of Resuscitation Training on BLS Skills
Abstract
Purpose: To determine effects of an in-hospital first-responder course on registered nurses' basic life support (BLS) skills retention, confidence, and anxiety. Design: A prospective blind, pre-test, post-test design was used. Participants were randomized into an experimental group that received pre-testing, a first responder course, and post-testing; and a control group, that received a lethal dysrhythmia course. The pre-test and post-test of both groups used identical methods. Sample: A convenience sample of Army active duty, Army reserve, and civilian RN's affiliated with Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas was used to enroll 108 with 99 completions. Methods: Both groups received pre-testing at 3-6 months after BLS course completion, a teaching intervention, and post-testing 6-9 months after interventions. Anxiety and confidence levels related to CPR/AED were measured. Instrumentation: Instruments used for data collection were: Demographic Form, AHA BLS Critical Actions Checklist, Anxiety and Confidence Visual Analog Scales. Analysis: Statistical methods were: frequencies, measures of central tendency and dispersion, chi square statistics, correlation, ANOVA and logistic regression. Findings: Proficiency in CPR-AED skills was defined as passing the BLS Critical Actions Post-test. Registered nurses, who received a first responder course at six months, were not more proficient in CPR-AED skills than registered nurses who did not receive first responder training. When experimental and control groups were compared on the final BLS test, there was not a statistically significant difference despite 78.2% of the experimental group passing, compared to 63.6% of the Control group. Implications for Nursing: This study needs to be replicated with a larger sample size, greater control for exposure to incidental training outside of the experimental courses, and a better approach to assessing confidence and anxiety. Further research is needed in order to help
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 15, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA627641
Entities
People
- Kimberly K. Smith
Organizations
- Geneva Foundation