Three Different Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Training Methods

Summary

The goal of this study is to compare three methods of teaching medical and nursing students basic life saving skills. The standard method will teach students how to push on the chest and to analyze the heart rhythm using a regular monitor. The newer approach will teach the same skills but use a special heart monitor that provides both visual and verbal reminders. The third approach will combine both the standard and newer approaches to teaching. Our study would like to find out the better way to teach these skills and to create a standard way to grade how well students perform. This study will measure how deep and how fast the students push on the manikin's chest in a certain amount of time. Other goals include measuring how well the students use the heart monitor to deliver shocks and analyze the heart rhythm, how many breaths per minute they give, how long their hands are off the manikin and how well they think they performed overall.

Conditions

• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Feedback During CPR Training and Testing

Students in this group will receive training in BLS skills according to the 2005 AHA/ILCOR guidelines, using the ZOLL R Series™ defibrillator with an attached accelerometer pad that will be placed on the sternum of the manikin and visible to the user. Participants will be taught to use and follow the audio and visual feedback provided by the accelerometer and defibrillator to optimize their CPR performance (depth, rate, and minimal "hands-off" time). After the simulated cardiac arrest scenario, a data card containing the raw data collected from the accelerometer and defibrillator will be downloaded onto a laptop and used as a demonstration and training tool.

PROCEDURE

No Feedback Group

A standard no "feedback" defibrillator (ZOLL M series) will be used for teaching, immediate testing and 12 week (retention) testing. In order to collect CPR performance data, a simulation manikin with an attached accelerometer pad hidden from view within its chest will be used. Subjects will be told to perform compressions on top of the manikin's chest. During the test, subjects will be informed that data on their performance will be recorded but they will not be told how this will occur.

PROCEDURE

Feedback during CPR Training Not Testing

Students in this group will be tested using a five minute basic vfib arrest scenario and an R-series defibrillator and told to perform compressions on top of the accelerometer pad. The hexagonal icon will be visible but no prompting on its usage will be delivered during testing.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada

  collaborator OTHER

• Zoll Medical Corporation

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• Unity Health Toronto

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Paul Dorian, MD, FRCPC · Unity Health Toronto

• Natalie Wong, MD, FRCPC · Unity Health Toronto

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2008-09-30

Primary Completion

2009-09-30

Completion

2010-09-30

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations