Resuscitation Education: Narrowing the Gap Between Evidence-Based Resuscitation Guidelines and Performance Using Best Educational Practices

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Recent data from in- and out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrests reveal that health care teams frequently deviate from American Heart Association guidelines during resuscitation efforts. These discrepancies between the current state of evidence-based resuscitation guidelines and the quality of basic and advanced life support actually delivered represent a missed opportunity and provide a significant target for optimizing patient outcomes through improved educational effectiveness. This article presents discussion of the quality of resuscitation delivered to patients, a brief history of the development of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and attempts to translate the science of resuscitation to the bedside through effective educational strategies, a review of educational best practices that relate to resuscitation education, and discussion of the role of medical simulation in resuscitation training.

Section snippets

Quality of basic and advanced life support

When the heart stops beating in an organized manner or beats at a rate too low or too high to sustain circulation, it is possible to deliver oxygenated blood flow through vital organs with chest compressions and assisted ventilation, which when combined are referred to as CPR. CPR will not sustain life indefinitely; however, CPR may either be sufficient to restart the heart or can buy time by temporizing until another life-saving therapy is administered (eg, defibrillation for a shockable

Brief history of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and resuscitation education

When considering how to optimize educational effectiveness, it is useful to review the origin of CPR and dissemination of resuscitation education. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a group of scientists discovered or rediscovered elements that are now key to modern cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Elam, Safar, and Gordon [11], [12], [13], [14] published a series of manuscripts demonstrating the importance of positioning the airway to eliminate airway obstruction by the tongue, the ability to

Important theoretic considerations and educational best practices in resuscitation

To optimize the effectiveness of resuscitation educational interventions, it is important to incorporate relevant educational best practices [30]. We examine several key concepts for resuscitation in the sections that follow.

The role of simulation in resuscitation education

To optimize the learning outcomes from resuscitation courses, we must combine the right amount of didactic teaching to ensure basic knowledge with ample time for deliberate practice of BLS and ALS skills. Optimal integration of simulation-based activities into resuscitation curricula meets the adult learners' needs and, if done well, simultaneously incorporates the multiple educational best practices outlined.

In broad terms, simulation is “a set of techniques, rather than a technology per se,

Summary

Resuscitation education has a proud past and a bright future. Each year, the medical community strives to advance CPR education by investigating methods to attain and retain skills and make CPR education readily accessible to all. Unfortunately, discrepancies between the current state of evidence-based resuscitation guidelines and the quality of delivered BLS and ALS represent a missed opportunity and provide a significant target for optimizing patient outcomes through improved educational

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