ABSTRACT
Objectives: This study assessed: i] the level of cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR] education and training; and ii] the readiness among the students in case they are presented during an emergency outside of work
Design: A cross-sectional study
Setting: Health Science Centre, Kuwait University [HSC-KU]
Subjects: Medical and dental students in their clinical years
Intervention: A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire composed of three sections and proposed different hypothetical situations was distributed in the HSC-KU
Main outcome measures: Whether students had adequate knowledge about CPR, and their confidence in performing CPR
Results: Of 331 invited participants, 208 [62.8%] agreed and completed the questionnaire. Of 208 participants, 53.4% participants were not confident to perform CPR. The correct answers to 9 of 11 questions set as an adequate knowledge score was achieved only by 23.6% of the respondents. We found that the attitude of the rescuers changes with the situation faced
Conclusion: Our findings show that even though students have received training in CPR, they are uncertain about applying their skills. This information may provide the guidelines to improve the current training program. Additionally, we suggest that clinically simulated scenarios may increase the confidence of students to perform in emergencies outside the hospital