CPRural.

Introduction: The purpose of our study was to determine if regular cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) practise improved the quality of nurses' chest compressions in a rural hospital.

Methods: The study was a prospective interventional trial measuring the effectiveness of brief, monthly CPR practice for rural nurses. The quality of nurses' chest compressions was measured before and after monthly practise with an interactive feedback device at the Golden and District Hospital, a rural facility in BC.

Results: All three components of high-quality CPR (depth, recoil and rate) improved significantly.

Conclusion: Monthly practise of chest compressions with an interactive feedback device improved the quality and confidence of nurses' CPR skills. These results suggest that a higher frequency of CPR practice (than the minimum annual recertification) would improve both the quality and retention of CPR skills, specifically for low-volume rural hospitals.