CPR Blitzkrieg: Training 500 High School Students in less than 48 hours

Area of Science:

• Health Education
• Emergency Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Arkansas mandates cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training for high school graduation.
• Existing CPR curricula may not optimize individual practice for large student cohorts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt the American Heart Association's CPR in Schools curriculum for maximal individual practice.
• To assess the feasibility of training large student populations in CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) use within a compressed timeframe.

Main Methods:

• Modified the American Heart Association's CPR in Schools curriculum.
• Implemented a training model focused on maximizing individual student practice.
• Conducted training over a two-day period at a large high school.

Main Results:

• Successfully trained 520 students in CPR and AED use at Little Rock Central High School.
• Identified minimal physical limitations (3 students) impacting participation.
• Extended the training model to five additional district public high schools.

Conclusions:

• Large-scale CPR and AED training is feasible within a time-compressed format.
• A dedicated and skilled instructor team is crucial for effective mass training.
• The adapted training model shows potential for application in workplace settings.