JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

In Geneva, Switzerland, basic life support (BLS) maneuvers are provided in only 40% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) cases. As OHCA outcomes are markedly improved when BLS maneuvers are swiftly applied, a "first-responder" system was introduced in 2019. When emergency dispatchers identify a possible OHCA, first responders receive an alert message on a specific app (Save-a-Life) installed on their smartphones. Those nearest to the victim and immediately available are sent the exact location of the intervention. First-year medical students only possess limited knowledge regarding BLS procedures but might nevertheless need to take care of OHCA victims. Medical students responding to out-of-hospital emergencies are off-duty in half of these situations, and offering junior medical students the opportunity to enlist as first responders might therefore not only improve OHCA outcomes but also foster a greater recognition of the role medical students can hold in our society.

Objective:

Our aim is to determine whether providing first-year medical students with a short intervention and with an interactive e-learning module can motivate them to enlist as first responders.

Methods:

After obtaining the approval of the regional ethics committee and of the vice-dean for undergraduate education of the University of Geneva Faculty of Medicine (UGFM), two senior medical students will present the project to their first-year colleagues at the beginning of a lecture. First-year students will then be provided with a link to an interactive e-learning module which has been designed according to the Swiss Resuscitation Council’s first aid guidelines. After answering a first questionnaire and completing the module, students will be able to register for practice sessions. Those attending and successfully completing these sessions will receive a training certificate which will enable them to enlist as first responders. The primary outcome will be the proportion of first-year medical students enlisting as first responders at the end of the study period. Secondary outcomes will be the proportion of first-year medical students electing to register on the platform, to begin the e-learning module, to complete the e-learning module, to register for practice sessions, to attend the practice sessions, and to obtain a certificate. Descriptive statistics will be used to display results. Student’s t-test will be used to determine a potential association between baseline knowledge and the probability of obtaining a certificate and of enlisting.

Results:

Both the regional ethics committee (Req-2020-01143) and the vice-dean for undergraduate educationof the UGFM have given their approval to the realization of this study, which is scheduled to begin in January 2021.

Conclusions:

This study should determine whether a short intervention followed by an interactive e-learning module can motivate first-year medical students to enlist as first responders.