Students of Poznan University of Medical Sciences are not enough prepared to provide high quality basic life support

Introduction. In case of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) quick recognition and provision of immediate high quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) increases chance of survival. It has been proven that Poles’ knowledge about the basic life support is insufficient. Alumni of medical universities are expected to have practical skills and extensive knowledge to provide appropriate help to SCA victim. Material and methods. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. We invited all Polish-language students of Poznan University of Medical Sciences (PUMS). 434 people took part in the survey. The research tool was online questionnaire containing 20 questions. Results. Most of correct answers was given by students of Medical Faculty I, then Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical Faculty II and Faculty of Pharmacy (median of correct answers as follows: 9.48, 8.86, 7.90, 6.93). The biggest problem our students had with questions about: time of interruptions in chest compressions, depth of compressions and duration of a single breath (respectively: 27.63%, 36.53%, 38.64% of correct answers). 42.56% of students would initiate CPR if they saw agonal breaths. 34.50% percent believed that they are properly prepared for CPR while 60.05% said that the number of first aid course hours is insufficient. We found statistically significant relationship between number of critical mistakes and faculty of study (p = 0.00003, contingency factor = 0.2282). Conclusions. The knowledge of PUMS students about CPR is inadequate. It is suggested to evaluate the number of hours dedicated to CPR classes. We should pay attention to identifying agonal breaths and all the criteria of CPR quality.