Resuscitation for Medical Disciplines Warwick: A Year of Progress

Background

The RMD Basic Life Support (BLS) course aims to teach students BLS with CPR/AED and first aid. A successful pilot course was run at Warwick Medical School in 2018. Subsequently, four courses were offered for 2019-20.

 Aims

• Educate medical students and life-science students in BLS and first aid
• Analyze the number of students successfully progressing through the course
• Gather student feedback regarding the course structure and content

 Methods

The course was primarily advertised to first year medical students. After this initial sign-up, the opportunity was then given to the life sciences. The RMD BLS course is a four-week programme. Students are required to attend all sessions and pass an exam in order to be certified as competent by the European Resuscitation Council. At the end of the course, students were asked to provide feedback on instructors, course content & structure, and overall feedback.

 Results

Overall, 277 students signed up (237 medical & 40 life-science students), but 83 students withdrew before the exam. The remaining 194 students all passed their final exam.

Course feedback was consistently positive, with common themes of:

• Friendly instructors
• High-quality teaching
• Increased confidence in skills

 Many students expressed an interest to become instructors.

 Conclusion

Considering the 100% exam pass rate and positive feedback, it appears that students have been satisfactorily educated in BLS & first aid and found the course useful. An almost complete uptake of available spaces also indicates a clear interest and need for the course to continue.