An innovative pedagogic course combining video and simulation to teach medical students about pediatric cardiopulmonary arrest: a prospective controlled study

Compliance by residents in pediatrics to pediatric resuscitation guidelines is low. In many French faculties, a 1-h traditional lecture is still used to educate medical students about pediatric cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA). We developed an innovative pedagogic course combining a 23-min video and 3-h simulation exercises to improve knowledge and skills of medical students. A prospective controlled study was conducted. Medical student knowledge was tested before, just after, and 6–12 months after the innovative course and compared to that of a cohort who attended the traditional lecture. A high-fidelity mannequin simulator simulating cardiopulmonary arrest was used to assess and compare the skills of the study and control groups. Costs of the courses were evaluated; 809 of 860 (94 %) medical students were assessed for knowledge. Six to 12 months after the courses, the median score was significantly higher for the innovative group than that for the traditional lecture group (p < 0.001). In terms of skills, student in the innovative group scored higher on the performance score than the control group (p < 0.01). The innovative course was 24 times more expensive.

Conclusion: Combination of video and simulation allows better retention of knowledge than a traditional lecture and leads to better compliance to resuscitation guidelines.