Indian and United States paramedic students: comparison of examination performance for the American Heart Association Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) training.

MedStar author(s):
Citation: Journal of Emergency Medicine. 43(2):298-302, 2012 Aug.PMID: 22244286Institution: MedStar Washington Hospital CenterDepartment: Emergency MedicineForm of publication: Journal ArticleMedline article type(s): Journal Article | Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tSubject headings: *Advanced Cardiac Life Support/ed [Education] | *Allied Health Personnel/ed [Education] | *Students | Adult | Allied Health Personnel/sn [Statistics & Numerical Data] | Curriculum | Educational Measurement | Female | Humans | India | Male | Statistics, Nonparametric | Students/sn [Statistics & Numerical Data] | United States | Young AdultLocal holdings: Available online from MWHC library: 1995 - present, Available in print through MWHC library:1999-2007ISSN:
  • 0736-4679
Name of journal: The Journal of emergency medicineAbstract: BACKGROUND: The American Heart Association (AHA) Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) course is taught worldwide. The ACLS course is designed for consistency, regardless of location; to our knowledge, no previous study has compared the cognitive performance of international ACLS students to those in the United States (US).CONCLUSION: Indian paramedic students demonstrated excellent ACLS cognitive comprehension and performed at a level equivalentto their US counterparts on an AHAACLS written examination. Based on the study results, the AHA ACLS course proved effective in an international setting despite being taught in a non-native language. Copyright 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.METHODS: First-year paramedic students at the Emergency Management and Research Institute, Hyderabad, India, and a cohort of first-year paramedic students from the United States comprised the study population. All study participants had successfully completed the standard 2-day ACLS course, taught in English. Each student was given a 40-question standardized AHA multiple-choice examination. Examination performance was calculated and compared for statistical significance.RESULTS: There were 117 Indian paramedic students and 43 US paramedic students enrolled in the study. The average score was 86% (+/- 11%) for the Indian students and 87% (+/- 6%) for the US students. The difference between the average examination scores was not statistically significant in an independent means t-test (p=0.508) and a Wilcoxon test (p=0.242).STUDY OBJECTIVES: As international health educational initiatives continue to expand, an assessment of their efficacy is essential. This study assesses the AHA ACLS curriculum in an international setting by comparing performance of a cohort of US and Indian paramedic students.All authors: Camacho J, D'Souza P, Delasobera BE, Gilbert G, Goodwin T, Koskovich M, Mahadevan SV, Strehlow MDigital Object Identifier: Date added to catalog: 2013-09-17
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Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode
Journal Article MedStar Authors Catalog Article Available 22244286

Available online from MWHC library: 1995 - present, Available in print through MWHC library:1999-2007

BACKGROUND: The American Heart Association (AHA) Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) course is taught worldwide. The ACLS course is designed for consistency, regardless of location; to our knowledge, no previous study has compared the cognitive performance of international ACLS students to those in the United States (US).

CONCLUSION: Indian paramedic students demonstrated excellent ACLS cognitive comprehension and performed at a level equivalentto their US counterparts on an AHAACLS written examination. Based on the study results, the AHA ACLS course proved effective in an international setting despite being taught in a non-native language. Copyright 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

METHODS: First-year paramedic students at the Emergency Management and Research Institute, Hyderabad, India, and a cohort of first-year paramedic students from the United States comprised the study population. All study participants had successfully completed the standard 2-day ACLS course, taught in English. Each student was given a 40-question standardized AHA multiple-choice examination. Examination performance was calculated and compared for statistical significance.

RESULTS: There were 117 Indian paramedic students and 43 US paramedic students enrolled in the study. The average score was 86% (+/- 11%) for the Indian students and 87% (+/- 6%) for the US students. The difference between the average examination scores was not statistically significant in an independent means t-test (p=0.508) and a Wilcoxon test (p=0.242).

STUDY OBJECTIVES: As international health educational initiatives continue to expand, an assessment of their efficacy is essential. This study assesses the AHA ACLS curriculum in an international setting by comparing performance of a cohort of US and Indian paramedic students.

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