Comparison of a newly established emotional stimulus approach to a classical assessment-driven approach in BLS training: a randomised controlled trial

Objective: The study objective was to implement two strategies (short emotional stimulus vs announced practical assessment) in the teaching of resuscitation skills in order to evaluate whether one led to superior outcomes.

Setting: This study is an educational intervention provided in one German academic university hospital.

Participants: First-yearmedical students (n=271) during the first3 weeks of their studies.

Interventions: Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups following a sequence of random numbers: the emotional stimulus group (EG) and the assessment group (AG). In the EG, the intervention included watching an emotionally stimulating video prior to the Basic Life Support (BLS) course. In the AG, a practical assessment of the BLS algorithm was announced and tested within a 2 min simulated cardiac arrest scenario. After the baseline testing, a standardised BLS course was provided. Evaluation points were defined 1 week and 6 months after.

Primary outco...