Brief Bedside Refresher Training to Practice Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Skills in the Ambulatory Surgery Center Setting.

Cardiac arrest can occur in any health care setting at any time, requiring nursing staff to be prepared to quickly and adequately perform basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Currently, the American Heart Association certifies health care providers in Basic Life Support (BLS) for a 2-year period, but evidence indicates that psychomotor skills decline well before the end of the certification time frame. Nurses in the ambulatory surgery setting expressed concern regarding their ability to implement CPR successfully, given the infrequent occurrence of cardiac and respiratory arrests. Using a study by Niles et al. as a model, the authors piloted the implementation of brief CPR refresher training at the bedside of an ambulatory surgery center to assess and increase nurse confidence in BLS skills.