Pharmacist participation in cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Pharmacist participation in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), including the basic life support (BLS) activities of artificial respiration and chest compressions, was studied. A questionnaire was mailed in September 1991 to the 197 graduates (1986-90) of a Michigan college of pharmacy requiring BLS training for graduation. Another questionnaire was mailed in April 1992 to the 181 pharmacy directors at all general acute-care hospitals in Michigan. The "graduate" survey covered practice setting, current status of BLS certification, use of BLS, and attitudes toward BLS training. The "director" survey covered the characteristics of the institution and its pharmacists, pharmacist involvement in CPR, and departmental BLS-training requirements. The response rates for the graduate and director surveys were 81% (160 questionnaires) and 76% (138), respectively. Only 66 (41%) of the graduates were currently certified in BLS, and only 77 (48%) had completed a BLS course since graduation. More than half (84, or 53%) indicated they had never been involved in any CPR activity. Activities most likely to be reported were drug preparation, dosage calculation, documentation, and drug information; very few pharmacists had given artificial respiration or chest compressions. Forty-six (33%) of the directors indicated that pharmacists routinely were members of the CPR team. Most (59%) of these 46 hospitals did not require BLS training for pharmacists. Hospital size significantly affected whether pharmacists were included on the CPR team. Hospitals with decentralized pharmacists were more likely than hospitals with centralized pharmacists to have pharmacist involvement on the CPR team. Both study groups expressed ambivalence about the value of BLS training for their current pharmacy practice situations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)