Optimal Teaching of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Schools: Better Education, More Lives Saved

Teaching cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Romanian schools is a joint initiative of the Acute Cardiac Care Working Group of the Romanian Society of Cardiology, the Romanian National Resuscitation Council and the Romanian Society of Emergency Medicine and Disaster. Teaching young generations to save people in cardiac arrest requires a structural approach, whose starting point is the launching of a large-scale campaign in favor of introducing the basics of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the school curriculum. The training stages can be set according to the principle of repetition (i.e. every two years). Teachers seem to be the best candidates for the instructor position, taking into account the knowledge and skills they acquired throughout the teacher training programs, as well as, their continuous contact with the students; consequently, training teachers to become CPR instructors represents a long term investment. All acquired knowledge will implicitly spread to a secondary level (trainee's parents, relatives, etc.) and the number of individuals gaining access to CPR specific information will rise as a consequence. Entering the CPR training program should be promoted as a criterion for the accreditation and/or evaluation of primary schools, middle schools, and high schools. To begin with, this program must be implemented in Romania at first as part of the non-formal context of the special education week called "Şcoala altfel" ("School otherwise").