Use of mental imagery to learn CPR skills in pre-registration nurse education

Learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills is mandatory for all health professionals. This is usually done through physical practice, often in mandatory training sessions. Cardio-respiratory arrest or cardiac arrest is when breathing ceases and the heart stops circulating oxygenated blood to vital organs (Resuscitation Council UK, 2015). The delivery of high-quality CPR is an emergency procedure that combines both chest compressions and artificial ventilation to manually preserve brain and cardiac function.

There are several evidence-based elements that make up high-quality CPR. These elements include: a ratio of 30 compressions to 2 rescue breaths, ensuring the depth of chest compressions is 50–60 mm, that rate of compressions is 100–120 a minute, that the chest is allowed to recoil completely and fully after each compression, there is minimal interruptions to chest compressions and that each compression takes the same amount of time for compression and relaxation (Resuscitation Council UK, 2015).