JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Early cardiopulmonary resuscitation and prompt defibrillation markedly increase the survival rate in case of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). As future healthcare professionals, medical students should be trained to efficiently manage an unexpectedly encountered OHCA.

Objective:

Our aim was to assess basic life support (BLS) knowledge in junior medical students at the University of Geneva Faculty of Medicine (UGFM) and to compare it with that of the general population.

Methods:

Junior UGFM students and lay people who had registered to BLS classes given by a red-cross affiliated center were sent invitation links to complete a web-based questionnaire. The primary outcome was the between-group difference on a 10-question score. Secondary outcomes were the differences in the rate of correct answers for each individual question and in the level of self-assessed confidence in the ability to perform resuscitation.

Results:

The mean score was higher in medical students than in lay people (5.8±1.7 vs 4.2±1.7, P<.001). Although the phone number of the emergency medical dispatch center was well known (94% vs 82%, P=.06), most participants were unable to identify the criteria used to recognize OHCA, and almost none were able to correctly reorganize the BLS sequence. Medical students felt more confident than lay people in their ability to perform resuscitation (4.7±2.2 vs 3.1±2.1, P<.001).

Conclusions:

Although junior medical students were more knowledgeable than lay people regarding BLS procedures, the proportion of correct answers was low in both groups, and changes in BLS education policy should be considered.