%0 Journal Article
%T Preparation for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Medical Schools in Australia: A Survey of Current Practice
%A Peter J. M. Barton
%A Andrew A. Beveridge
%A Kay M. Jones
%J ISRN Critical Care
%D 2013
%R 10.5402/2013/789601
%X Introduction. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is acknowledged worldwide as a stressful clinical activity for all young doctors. The extent of standardisation of preparation for CPR within Australian curricula is unknown. Recent trends in the UK suggest the emergence of a common endpoint, Immediate Life Support (ILS) certification. The support for a similar shared endpoint in Australia is unknown. Methodology. A telephone questionnaire survey about the preparation for teaching CPR to medical students was undertaken in all Australian medical schools in early 2012; 88% of schools replied. Results. The majority favoured early basic CPR training. There was marked variation in how schools taught advanced CPR and how CPR competence was assessed. Only one school considered their graduates to be less than well prepared for CPR and all schools agreed that a common endpoint was desirable. Discussion. There is broad support for Immediate Life Support as a common end in resuscitation competence. Medical schools where students are prepared for a rural placement on graduation may still require a higher standard of competence. 1. Introduction Competent cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a necessary skill for medical graduates. The few studies conducted in Australia that discusses junior doctorsĄŻ preparedness and education experiences report that the junior doctors demonstrate a broad range of competence levels. Using self-rating scales, some junior doctors report feeling well prepared for resuscitation and managing emergencies whilst others feel their preparation is inadequate [1¨C4]. Similar variation has also been reported for chiropractic and undergraduate nursing students in Australia [5]. Comparable literature from overseas is limited, but similar experiences are reported for medical students from the United Kingdom [6¨C9] and Germany [10]. Common themes from these studies include significant anxiety and a lack of confidence in undertaking CPR. Whilst CPR is usually embedded within a broader curriculum in emergency medicine [11], there remains variation in curricular processes, delivery mechanisms, assessment philosophies, and required outcomes at the national level. Benchmarking and disseminating current practice of CPR preparation (teaching and assessment) are part of normal curricula renewal. The first international consensus curriculum in undergraduate emergency medicine, involving contributions from more than fifty countries, was only developed as recently as 2009 [11]. In Australia, emergency medicine teaching has relied on local initiatives; for
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.critical.care/2013/789601/