Teaching advanced life support to predoctoral dental students

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Emergency Medicine
• Cardiovascular Life Support

Background:

• Undergraduate dental curricula often lack comprehensive emergency care training.
• Advanced life support (ALS) skills are crucial for managing medical emergencies in dental settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the capability of senior dental students to meet the rigorous didactic and clinical standards of the American Heart Association's ALS course.
• To assess the feasibility of integrating ALS training into undergraduate dental education.

Main Methods:

• Thirty senior dental students were randomly selected for an elective ALS course.
• Participants underwent standardized written examinations and clinical skills testing.
• Proficiency was defined by achieving a minimum score of 85% on the written exam and meeting clinical performance requirements.

Main Results:

• 27 out of 30 students (90%) achieved the minimum 85% proficiency on the written examination, with scores ranging from 78% to 100%.
• 19 out of 20 students (95%) successfully passed the clinical skills testing stations.
• No student scored below 78% on the written examination.

Conclusions:

• Senior dental students possess the aptitude to acquire and demonstrate proficiency in advanced life support skills.
• The American Heart Association's ALS course is a feasible and effective addition to the undergraduate dental curriculum for emergency care training.