Basic life support knowledge of healthcare students and professionals in the Qassim University

To evaluate the knowledge of basic life support (BLS) among students and health providers in Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, and Allied Health Science Colleges at Qassim University.

A cross sectional study was performed using an online BLS survey that was completed by 139 individuals.

Ninety-three responders were medical students, 7 were medical interns, 6 were dental students, 7 were pharmacy students, 11 were medical science students and 15 were clinical practitioners. No responder scored 100% on the BLS survey. Only two out of the 139 responders (1.4%) scored 90-99%. Both of these individuals were fifth year medical students. Six responders (4.3%) scored 80-89%. Of these, 5 were fifth year medical students, and one was fourth-year medical student. Eleven responders (7.9%) scored 70-79%. Of these, eight were fifth year medical students, two were medical interns and one was a pharmacist. Twenty-three responders (16.5%) scored 60-69%. Of these, 11 were fifth year medical students, 1 was a fourth-year medical student, 3 were medical interns, 2 were medical science students, 1 was a dentistry student, and 5 were pharmacists. Twenty-eight responders (20.1%) scored 50-59%. Of these, 11 were fifth year medical students, 3 were fourth-year medical students, 1 was a third-year medical student, 1 was a second-year medical student, 2 were first-year medical students, 1 was a pharmacy student, 3 were dental students, 1 was a allied health science student, 2 were doctors, and 3 were pharmacists. The remaining 69 responders (49.6%) scored less than 50%.

Knowledge of BLS among medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, and allied health science students and health providers at Qassim University is poor and needs to be improved. We suggest that inclusion of a BLS course in the undergraduate curriculum with regular reassessment would increase awareness and application of this valuable life-saving skill set.