A Service-Learning Initiative to Teach Hands-Only CPR to High School Students: PumpStart

Abstract

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival rates have been shown to be lower than cardiac arrest survival rates occurring in the hospital setting. Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can significantly improve survival. PumpStart, a community service-learning program developed by medical students, was formed to increase education on compression-only CPR to local high school students and foster leadership and mentorship skills in participating medical students. 1-hr sessions were administered at local high schools throughout the metro—Boston area. A single semester “pilot” phase and “first-year” implementation phase were reviewed. Anonymous pre-/postassessment surveys were completed by participants. Medical students also completed surveys assessing their comfort in teaching CPR. Surveys over both pilot semester and first year phases were reviewed. Participants reported significant improvements in CPR technique and confidence in acquired skills for both the pilot semester (31% vs. 82%, p < .05) and first year implementation (33% vs. 86%, p < .05). Medical students reported significantly higher confidence levels regarding abilities to answer questions about CPR, serving as mentors, and facilitating training sessions for new medical students after participating in PumpStart ( p < .05). PumpStart was successful in providing CPR awareness to high school students, as well as the opportunity to learn about teaching and mentoring for medical students. Such a program can be easily reproduced by other health care organizations with the goal to increase opportunities for bystander CPR and improving OHCA survival rates nationally.