References
Basic life support training: Is student confidence enhanced by advanced levels of simulation?
Abstract
Background:
Basic life support (BLS) is a mandatory skill for nurses. The confidence of the BLS provider should be enhanced by regular training. Traditionally, BLS training has used low-fidelity manikins, but more recent studies have suggested the use of high-fidelity manikins and alternative levels of simulation such as virtual reality.
Methods:
A quasi-experimental study including 125 nursing students. Data on confidence levels in various elements of BLS were collected using pre-validated questionnaires and analysed using SPSSv23.
Results:
The study revealed that high-fidelity simulation had a significant impact on the BLS learner's confidence levels.
Conclusion:
The study identified the importance of high-fidelity simulation in BLS training in preparing students for clinical practice. This highlights the need for further exploration of simulation technologies, such as virtual reality, to enable students to gain the knowledge, skills, confidence and competence required to enable safe and effective practice.
Basic life support (BLS) is crucial in the event of a cardiac arrest (European Resuscitation Council, 2021; Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK), 2021) and BLS training is of international concern (Dick-Smith et al, 2021). In hospitals, nurses are often the first responders to a cardiac arrest, providing BLS, which is a mandatory skill. Nursing students are involved directly in caring for acutely ill patients (Smith and Rushton, 2018), who are at risk of cardiac arrest, and require training to ensure that they can assist and deliver BLS if required.
The self-confidence of the learners in performing a practical skill is important (Aoyama et al, 2013). Swift et al (2022) acknowledged that the development of self-confidence is not related to just one learning episode, but that self-confidence is the outcome of scaffolded learning that relates to theory and practice. Nurse educators need to find strategies to instil confidence to enable the students to deliver BLS under pressure (Smith and Hamilton, 2015).
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