Evaluation of nurses' theoretical knowledge in Basic Life Support: A study in a district Greek hospital

Objective: Nurses are usually the first-responders in cases of in-hospital cardiac arrest. Their competence in Basic Life Support (BLS) is important in improving patient outcome. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nurses' BLS knowledge in a small district hospital. Methods: Data was collected by an anonymous questionnaire, distributed to all nursing personnel in this hospital. Data/results: The failure rate of the BLS theoretical questionnaire was 84%. Regarding self-assessment 10.3% of the participants rated their BLS knowledge as very good, whereas 31.2%, 44.2% and 14.3% of them rated it as good, moderate or not good respectively. This self-assessment did not correlate significantly with the final performance in the written test. No difference regarding the performance in the written test was observed between nurses who had participated in a refresher BLS course after graduation and those who had not. The nurses without any previous personal experience in the BLS had a higher probability to pass the written test. Conclusions: Our results indicate a low level of BLS knowledge among the study participants. Having an occasional refresher BLS course, or prior experience in BLS, does not affect the level of knowledge. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.