Inclusion of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation-Basic Life Support. Training in the Pharmacy Curriculum. Leslie A. Shimpa,*, Nancy A. Masona, Clinton B. Atwaterb, ...
Inclusion of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation-Basic Life Support Training in the Pharmacy Curriculum Leslie A. Shimpa,*, Nancy A. Masona, Clinton B. Atwaterb, Nancy M. Toedterc, and Daniel W. Gorenflod a
College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI 48109-1065; bLong Term Care Pharmacy, Lansing MI; cSchool of Pharmacy, Northeast Louisiana State University, Monroe LA; dDepartment of Family Practice, Medical School, University of Michigan
This study was performed to explore the appropriateness of inclusion of cardiopulmonary resuscitation-basic life support (CPR-BLS) in the pharmacy curriculum. Specifically, we designed our study to determine the number and types of professional pharmacy degree programs which require CPR-BLS and whether the skills taught by the CPR-BLS program are applicable to the practice of pharmacy. Data were collected via two surveys: (i) U.S. colleges of pharmacy, and (ii) graduates (1986-1990) of the University of Michigan (UM) College of Pharmacy. Responses were received from 62 of the 73 U.S. Colleges of Pharmacy (86 percent); 160 of the 197 (81 percent) surveys mailed to UM pharmacy graduates were returned. CPR-BLS certification was a requirement for graduation at 29 (46 percent) of the colleges and was more likely to be required for the PharmD as the first professional degree programs (17 of 31 programs; 55 percent). Despite the fact that basic life support skills are rarely utilized by pharmacists, most graduates (77 percent) felt that CPR-BLS certification should continue to be a requirement in the pharmacy curriculum. Pharmacy faculty will need to consider both the attitudes of graduates and the applicability of curricular content to practice to determine whether CPR-BLS should be a required component of the pharmacy curriculum.
INTRODUCTION Within the last several years ACPE issued revised guidelines for the professional program leading to a Doctor of Pharmacy degree(l). The guidelines endorsed changes in both curricular content and teaching methods to prepare graduates to practice pharmaceutical care. Discussions of curricular change invariably focus on re-evaluating curricular content. As demands imposed by new topics and teaching styles become apparent a reexamination of existing curricular components becomes necessary. This study was performed to explore the appropriateness of inclusion of cardiopulmonary resuscitationbasic life support (CPR-BLS) in the pharmacy curriculum. Specifically, we designed our study to determine the number and types of professional pharmacy degree programs which require CPR-BLS and whether the skills taught by the CPRBLS program are applicable to the practice of pharmacy. METHODS Data were collected via two surveys: (i) U.S. colleges of pharmacy, (“college survey”): and (ii) graduates (1986-1990) of the University of Michigan (UM) College of Pharmacy ("graduate survey"). Both surveys were approved by the IRB. The surveys were mailed during the fall of 1991. The college survey included questions on professional degree programs offered, whether CPR-BLS certification was offered and/or was a requirement for graduation, source of instructors and certifying organization. The graduate survey included questions regarding the respondent's practice setting, current status of CPR-BLS certification, use of CPR-BLS or related CPR activities, and attitudes towards CPR-BLS certification. Respondents were selected so that their *Corresponding author.
initial one-year certification from the college of pharmacy had expired. Attitudinal responses were based on a Likert-type scale of 1 to 5 with 1 the most negative response and 5 the most positive response. In this report the term CPR-BLS is used to denote the basic life support activities of artificial respiration and chest compressions; the term CPR refers to a variety of resuscitation-related activities including CPR-BLS, medication preparation and dosage calculations and other resuscitation activities of the medical team. Data collected by the questionnaires were analyzed using the statistical program Systat®. Simple descriptive measures were tallied for many questions in the surveys. For dependent variables of the continuous type, the Student t-test was used to compare groups. The relationship between categorical variables was analyzed using the chi-square test. Finally, some relationships were examined using one-way ANOVA, where appropriate. The a priori level of significance was set at P
