Nursing students’ knowledge about arrest rhythms and their treatment

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Knowledge of health professionals for the arrest rhythms, is considered particularly important for the early recognition and proper treatment. Aim: The purpose of the present study was to assess the knowledge of nursing students on arrest rhythms and how to treat them. Material and Methods: The sample studied included 151 students from the Department of Nursing A' (n = 60, 40%) and B' (n = 91, 60%), TEI of Athens, of whom 83% (n=125) were women and 17% (n=26) were men with a mean age of 23 years. Data collection was performed with specially designed questionnaire, that apart from demographics and students’ education level, it included ten questions about arrest rhythms’ knowledge and also self-assessment questions of their level of knowledge. The data were analyzed with the SPSS package v.19, using the criteria t-Test and χ2. Results: Of all the participants in the research, 95% (n = 144) did not answer correctly more than 6 questions from a total of 10. The students of the Department of Nursing A’ recognized with greater accuracy the arrest rhythms (p = 0.003). Those studying in lower semester acknowledged best the arrest rhythms (p = 0.002). Students who had recently attended course in basic or advanced resuscitation recognized best the arrest rhythms (p = 0.006). Older students knew better right treatment of the arrest rhythms (p = 0.037). Also, students who had attended the course of cardiac nursing in the last year, knew better the right treatment (p <0.001). Finally, the level of self-assessment was in line with the actual level of knowledge of students (p = 0.05). Conclusions: Continuous attendance of courses, education on certified programs and refresh courses help to maintain a good level of knowledge for longer periods.

Keywords: Arrest, knowledge, basic CPR, advanced CPR, nurses, students