Cardiopulmonary resuscitation--a teaching guide.
As a teacher working in an acute area--Accident and Emergency, I have been concerned for some time about the teaching input on the curriculum for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In my experience, the students are given a short lecture on the procedure for calling an arrest team in the introductory unit and this is followed by a more in-depth lecture in their final year prior to commencing their clinical allocation on an acute unit such as accident and emergency or intensive care. I have found this to be inadequate as students are, in their own opinion, highly stressed by the thought of dealing with an arrest situation and the skills they demonstrate in their third year are, in my opinion, also inadequate. In my own hospital, we are fortunate to be one of the few centres which train the general public in how to deal with arrest situations in the home or work environment. I, am a trainer on this programme and have successfully argued for a similar programme to be incorporated into the introductory unit of the students' course. What has become clear is that other teachers are equally unnerved by the thought of a cardiac arrest and willingly admit to being inefficient at the actual resuscitation procedure. As a result, I have written teaching guidelines which should help those less experienced at cardiopulmonary resuscitation and will provide them with the necessary information which can be passed on to students.
Ferguson
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D001290:Attitude; D003479:Curriculum; D004506:Education, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D012151:Resuscitation; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*