Teaching resuscitation to pediatric residents: the effects of an intervention.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention on pediatric residents' resuscitation fund of knowledge, technical skills, confidence, and overall performance.

DESIGN: Prospective, nonconcurrent, controlled interventional trial.

SETTING: Urban pediatric tertiary care hospital.

PARTICIPANTS: An intervention group (IG) of 28 pediatric residents graduating in 1997, and a control group (CG) of 30 pediatric residents graduating in 1996.

INTERVENTIONS: Resuscitation course with didactic lectures and skills practice stations, as well as a minimum of 3 practice mock resuscitations with immediate feedback throughout postgraduate year 3.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fund of knowledge, using the Pediatric Advanced Life Support test and short answer test; technical skills, using the Airway and Vascular Access Skills Assessment; experience and confidence, using an anonymous survey; and overall performance, evaluated using a videotaped mock resuscitation test.

RESULTS: The IG scored better on the short answer test (P<.001). A larger number of IG residents were successful in the completion of ancillary airway maneuvers and femoral vascular access (P =.02), as well as endotracheal intubation (P =.004) and intraosseous access (P =.002). The IG was more confident in their leadership role (P =.0001) and technical skills (P =.05). Trends toward improved overall performance were noted for the IG mock resuscitations. Residents in the IG were more likely to assess the airway in fewer than 2 minutes (P =.02), recognize the threat to life in fewer than 5 minutes (P =.02), and complete the primary survey in a timely fashion (P =.05). They required fewer prompts (P =.04) and made fewer mistakes (P =.07).

CONCLUSIONS: A structured, formal curriculum can improve the necessary fund of knowledge, skills, confidence, and leadership required for resuscitation.