BASIC LIFE-SUPPORT SKILL ACQUISITION AND RETENTION IN STUDENT NURSES UNDERTAKING A PRE-REGISTRATION DIPLOMA IN HIGHER-EDUCATION NURSING COURSE

Many studies have investigated the ability of health care professional s to provide competent Basic Life Support (BLS) and all results indica te that the majority of staff fail to demonstrate competence. However, it has not yet been shown whether this poor performance is due to det erioration of skill or the non-acquisition of the skill during BLS tra ining. This study seeks to identify aspects of BLS acquisition and ret ention by student nurses during their three years of training. The two issues under consideration are the effect of teacher-student ratio an d the effect of regular practice on BLS performance, This paper provid es a review of the methodology and the initial findings.