A Short Intervention and an Interactive e-Learning Module to Motivate Medical and Dental Students to Enlist as First...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Emergency Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Basic life support (BLS) is critical for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival.
• First responder networks improve survival but often face low active rescuer numbers.
• Medical and dental students represent an underutilized resource for enhancing BLS coverage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a motivational intervention and blended BLS course on first-year medical and dental student recruitment as first responders.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of e-learning combined with in-person practice sessions.

Main Methods:

• A web-based motivational intervention was delivered to first-year medical students.
• Participants completed questionnaires on demographics and BLS knowledge.
• A blended learning approach included e-learning modules and 1-hour practice sessions led by senior students.

Main Results:

• 190 students (35.9%) initially agreed to participate; 102 (19.3%) attended practice sessions.
• 48 students (9.1%) completed training and enlisted as first responders within 6 months.
• Post-course confidence in resuscitation skills correlated with higher registration rates (P=.03).

Conclusions:

• A motivational intervention coupled with a BLS course can effectively recruit medical students as first responders.
• Further research is needed to address the low overall proportion of students who ultimately enlist.
• Confidence in skills, rather than prior knowledge, appears to be a key factor in successful recruitment.