Evaluation of Nurses’ Knowledge and Skills Regarding Basic Life Support Practices

AbstractIntroduction To evaluate the effect of a basic life support (BLS) training program on nurses’ theoretical knowledge and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performance and to examine whether post-training knowledge levels were associated with successful CPR performance in a simulation-based assessment.Design Prospective educational intervention study.Methods A total of 321 nurses participated in a standardized 45-minute BLS training session based on European Resuscitation Council guidelines. Theoretical knowledge was assessed using a 10-item knowledge test administered before and after training. CPR performance was evaluated immediately after training using a simulation-based cardiac arrest scenario and a structured 10-item checklist.Results Post-training knowledge scores increased significantly after training (2.9 ± 1.6 vs 4.2 ± 1.1; p < .001), with a large effect size (Cohen d = 0.97). Successful CPR performance was observed in 81.3% of participants. Post-training knowledge scores were weakly but significantly correlated with CPR success (r = .179; p = .001). Participants with successful CPR performance had higher post-training knowledge scores than those with unsuccessful performance (4.39 ± 1.14 vs 3.87 ± 1.03; p = .001).Conclusions Basic life support training was associated with a statistically significant improvement in nurses’ theoretical knowledge, and higher post-training knowledge scores were associated with better CPR performance in a simulation-based assessment. However, the absolute post-training knowledge score remained limited, indicating that a single brief training session may be insufficient to achieve a satisfactory level of theoretical mastery. These findings support the need for repeated, structured, and performance-based educational strategies to further develop resuscitation knowledge and skills among nurses.