Basic and immediate paediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation training in medical students

Abstract Background To analyse the effectiveness of Paediatric Basic Life Support (PBLS) and Paediatric Immediate Life Support (PILS) courses to train medical students in paediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Methods Eighteen courses (13 in PBLS and 5 in PILS) were delivered to 1214 medical students. Two theory tests and one practical test were performed. Students filled in an anonymous questionnaire after each course. Results The mean scores (out of 20) in the theory tests of the PBLS course were 11.4 before the course, and 19.2 upon completion ( P P Conclusions PBLS and PILS courses are useful methods for delivering theory and practice training to medical students, and should be mandatory in the paediatric curriculum of medical studies.