title: Permanent Education in BLS and ACLS: impact on the knowledge of nursing professionals.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The theoretical knowledge and practical skills of the Basic Life Support (BLS) and the Advanced Life Support (ALS) are among the most important determining factors of the cardiopulmonary reanimation success rates.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Assess the impact of a permanent training program in BLS and ALS on the knowledge of nursing professionals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study. Population was made of nursing professionals of a tertiary level hospital. Assessments were carried out before and after training. The critical points of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) analysis were addressed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  213 professionals were assessed (76 nurses, 35.7%; 38 assistants, 17.8%; and 99 technicians, 46.7%). Pre-course assessment average grades were statistically different (p<0.001) among assistants (3.25), technicians (3.96) and nurses (4.69). Single professional without kids showed performance significantly superior to married professional with kids (p=0.02 and 0.004 respectively). Pre-training level of knowledge was inversely proportional to the time elapsed since the completion of undergraduate course or technical course. Main deficiencies were related to the initial approach of airways, to post-resuscitation cares and to the external cardiac massage technique. The post-course general average grade was 7.26. Assistants achieved a performance of 131.2%, technicians, of 78.9% and the nurses, of 85%, with no significant statistic difference (p=0.43).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The permanent training program in BLS and ALS resulted in important increment in the level of knowledge of nursing professionals.
authors.affiliation: Real Hospital Português, Recife, PE, Brasil. sandrolima@cardiol.br
authors.forename: Sandro Gonçalves de
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.forename: Larissa Araripe de
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Macedo
authors.forename: Marcela de Lima
authors.initials: Mde L
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.forename: Michel Pompeu Barros de Oliveira
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Sá
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D022561:Advanced Cardiac Life Support / Q000193:education* / Q000451:nursing; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000193:education* / Q000451:nursing; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000592:standards*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors