We haven’t been able to hold any training sessions since 7th March last year, but how long is it since you went to a Basic Life Support event?
We naturally expect people to gradually forget varying amounts of what they picked up from such courses and we always encourage you to consider repeating the learning experience to refresh your knowledge. But what does the evidence say about this?
There are lots of scientific papers where this has been researched and these investigations serve to confirm that we all need to brush up on our skills and we encourage you to consider this when we get up and running again.
In the meantime there are excellent on-line videos available to keep you reminded, some on our blog such as:
Here’s the gist of some of the research papers on retention of skills, with links further down for those who wish to explore them further.
Retention of first aid and basic life support skills in undergraduate medical students
Medical Education Online
Synopsis
120 undergraduate medical students followed a compulsory first aid (FA) and basic life support (BLS) course. The study aimed at evaluating one and two-year retention of FA and BLS training.
It was found that the long-term retention of FA and BLS skills after a compulsory course in the first year is poor. Adequate check of vital signs and commencing cardiopulmonary resuscitation was retained longer.
First aid skill retention of first responders within the workplace
Scandinavian Journal of Trauma Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine
Synopsis
The purpose of this study was to determine the skill and knowledge decay in first aid in those who are paid to respond to emergency situations within a workplace. Using a choking victim scenario, the sequence and accuracy of events were observed and recorded in 257 first responders in large industrial or service industry settings.
Those who had renewed their certificate one or more times performed better than those who had learned the information only once. During the choking scenario many skills were performed poorly, regardless of days since last training, such as hand placement and abdominal thrusts. Compressions following the victim becoming unconscious also showed classic signs of skill deterioration after 30 days.
CPR Skill Retention of First Aid Attendants within the Workplace
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
Synopsis
Immediate resuscitation is necessary in order to achieve conscious survival for persons who have lost airways or pulses. However, current literature suggests that even in medically-trained personnel, CPR skills are forgotten shortly after certification.
The purpose of this study was to determine the CPR skill and knowledge decay in those who are paid to respond to emergency situations within the workplace.
Using an unconscious victim scenario, the sequence and accuracy of CPR events were observed and recorded in 244 participants.
Many of the knowledge-related assessment skills (e.g., scene safety, emergency medical system (EMS) activation) appeared to deteriorate with time,
The results of this study suggest that repetition may be more important than days since last trained for skill and knowledge retention.
Retention of knowledge and skills in first aid and resuscitation by airline cabin crew
Resuscitation
Synopsis
This study was conducted to investigate the retention of CPR and AED skills, first aid knowledge and perceived levels of confidence for a sample of 35 cabin crew 12 months after recurrent training. Of the 35 subjects, 33 subjects failed to use the bag-mask correctly, 18 performed chest compressions at the incorrect site, only 13 achieved the correct compression depth, only 20 placed the AED pads correctly, and the average time to first shock was 110 s after commencement of the resuscitation. While theoretical first aid knowledge was high, the participants held low levels of self-confidence in their CPR and AED skills.
How Well are Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillator Skills Retained over Time?
Academic Emergency Medicine
Synopsis
This study took place at 1,260 facilities recruited by 24 North American clinical research centres, and included 6,182 volunteer laypersons. One of its aims was to evaluate their retention of core CPR and AED skills at up to 17 months after initial training
For global CPR performance, 79%, 73%, and 71% of volunteers tested for the first time since initial training three to five, six to 11, and 12 to 17 months after initial training, respectively, were judged by their instructors as having adequate performance, demonstrating small declines associated with longer intervals between initial training and subsequent testing
LINKS FOR THE CURIOUS:
Retention of first aid and basic life support skills in undergraduate medical students
Medical Education Online
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3402/meo.v19.24841
First aid skill retention of first responders within the workplace
Scandinavian Journal of Trauma Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine
CPR Skill Retention of First Aid Attendants within the Workplace
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
Published online by Cambridge University Press:
Retention of knowledge and skills in first aid and resuscitation by airline cabin crew
Resuscitation
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17976894/
How Well are Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillator Skills Retained over Time? Results from the Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Trial
Academic Emergency Medicine
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1197/j.aem.2005.10.010
CPR Counts 