Effects of Near-Peer CPR Workshop on Medical Students’ Knowledge and Satisfaction

Background: The acquisition of competencies in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) among medical students requires specific and up-to-date training. In this study, a near-peer workshop group was used to assess the effects of cardiopulmonary resuscitation training on students’ satisfaction, acquisition, and retention of CPR knowledge. Methods: This quasi-experimental study using repeated measure analysis design was conducted with 120 medical students at the Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The educational content was presented in six workshop sessions under the supervision of a near-peer group. A questionnaire was used to assess demographics, knowledge, and satisfaction. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 14. Results: The mean knowledge scores of participants 6.8±2.7, 16.1± 2.6, and 13.5±4.0 before, immediately, and two months after the workshop, respectively. These results showed that the mean knowledge score significantly increased immediately after the training. Although the mean scores fell slightly by two months after the intervention, they remained significantly higher than before the workshop. The satisfaction level of all the students of this method was reported as good. Conclusion: In accordance with the positive effects of collaborative learning methods in the teaching-learning process, we used a novel and efficient collaborative method to improve the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. CPR training with a near-peer group had a positive impact on student knowledge acquisition, knowledge retention, and learning satisfaction. Therefore, this method may be a useful way to conduct such training workshops.