Acquiring basic life support skills in a self-learning station

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To develop a self-learning station combining a video with computer exercises to learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to novices, and to assess the efficacy of these two components on CPR acquisition. One hundred and twenty-five pharmacy students were trained using learning-while-watching video instructions followed by exercises with voice feedback. The proportion of students with adequate CPR skills (≥ 70% compressions with depth ≥ 50 mm, ≥ 70% compressions with complete release <5 mm, a compression rate between 100 and 120/min, ≥ 70% ventilations with a volume between 400 and 1000 ml) was measured at baseline, after video training and after subsequent voice-feedback training. Complete datasets were obtained for 104 students. After video training, the 70% cut-off for compression depth was achieved in 29/104 students, for complete release in 75/104, for ventilation volume in 44/104. Mean compression rate 100-120/min was adequate in 77/104 students. Compared with baseline results, only rate (29/104 vs. 77/104) and ventilation volume (6/104 vs. 44/104) improved. After subsequent training with voice feedback the proportions were: compression depth 88/104, compression rate 77/104, ventilation volume 74/104 and complete release 90/104. Compared with the skill level after video training only compression rate did not further improve. A score combining the three compression skills resulted in the following success rates: 6/104 (baseline), 15/104 (after the video), 59/104 (after voice feedback). Although in a self-learning station video training can introduce CPR skills to novices, additional voice-feedback exercises were needed to achieve acceptable CPR quality.