really good stuff
and 15.80  3.05 after the intervention (maximum
Basic life support: students teaching community
health workers
S
ergio G Veloso, Gabriel S Pereira,
Rosa M Delbone de Faria & Maria H Senger
What problems were addressed? Studies have
shown that student learning is enhanced when stu-
dents take the role of teacher. In addition, the role
of universities in improving health can be aug-
mented by engaging students to teach in the com-
munity. We studied the effects of a student teaching
programme in basic life support (BLS) on student
learning and health worker education in order to
address two issues: how to enhance knowledge and
retention of BLS skills in students, and how to
improve skills in the community in order to save
more lives through the provision of BLS.1
What was tried? Seventeen second-semester stu-
dents were trained in BLS in the simulation labora-
tory, using low-fidelity manikins and automatic
external defibrillators (AEDs). After training, stu-
dents were assessed using a skills and knowledge
examination, and were reassessed in practical skills
after 3 months. Three student groups, each accom-
panied by a faculty observer teacher, trained 32
local community health workers (nurses, dentists,
nursing technicians, health agents) in BLS in three
primary health care units, using manikins and
AEDs. Health workers underwent knowledge evalua-
tions before and after training, and a practical
assessment after training. At the end of the pro-
gramme, students and health workers were asked to
provide feedback. The mean  standard deviation
(SD) grade achieved on the students’ knowledge
test was 8.28  1.72 (maximum score: 10). After the
health worker teaching activity, students’
mean  SD practical grades increased from
12.25  2.86 (maximum score: 17) to 15.25  1.12
(paired Student’s t-test, p < 0.001). The mean  SD
score awarded for overall assessment by the faculty
observer was 9.32  0.76 (maximum score: 10).
There was a correlation between performance in
the practical and global assessments, respectively
(Pearson’s r = 0.587, p = 0.017). All students agreed
(n = 13) or partially agreed (n = 3) that teaching
health workers increased their own knowledge, and
agreed (n = 11) or partially agreed (n = 5) that it
was an efficient way to learn. The mean  SD score
for students’ self-assessment was 9.00  0.55 (maxi-
mum score: 10). Health workers achieved
mean  SD knowledge scores of 8.90  5.39 before
ª 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education;
MEDICAL EDUCATION 2016 50: 1145–1172
score: 20; paired Student’s t-test, p < 0.001). In a
practical evaluation of health workers’ skills, the
mean score achieved was 12.38  2.80 (maximum
score: 17). There was no correlation between the
knowledge post-test and the practical assessment
(Pearson’s r = 0.175, p = 0.338). After training,
81.3% of health workers felt they were able to apply
BLS in a real situation and 68.8% considered the
lessons sufficient for their learning. All of them said
they would undergo other courses with university
students.
What lessons were learned? Student teaching of
BLS skills to health workers can be a viable and use-
ful method of increasing students’ knowledge and
skills in resuscitation. Students can be effective BLS
teachers for health workers. Student teaching can
address the challenges involved in providing dur-
able education in resuscitation skills while promot-
ing the university’s contribution to improving
community health and social accountability.
REFERENCE
1 Philippon AL, Bokobza J, Pernet J, Carreira S, Riou B,
Duguet A, Freund Y. Medical students teach basic life
support to non-medical students: a pilot study.
Resuscitation 2013;84 (10):e135–6.
Correspondence: Sergio G Veloso, Department of Medicine,
Universidade Federal de S~ao Joao del-Rei, Pracßa Dom Helvecio,
74, S~ao Joao del-Rei, Minas Gerais 36307-352, Brazil.
Tel: 00 55 32 3379 2592; E-mail: velososg@ufsj.edu.br
doi: 10.1111/medu.13173
Resident grand rounds
Tobias Wasser & David A Ross
What problems were addressed? There is a chronic
tension in graduate medical education between the
large amount of content that must be covered and
the limited space available in a curriculum. As such,
it may be difficult to incorporate learner-identified
areas of interest, whether this involves expanded dis-
cussion of core content or the inclusion of contem-
porary topics that may be of special interest. This
process may have the unintended consequence of
causing students to feel less ownership over their
learning and less engagement with their educational
experience.
One approach that may assist programmes in
meeting this challenge involves making use of
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