Mock CPR Drills in Kids Show Many Residents Fail in Key Skills, Hopkins Study Reveals; 'Staged' CPR Drills Quickly Close the Training Gaps.

Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

BALTIMORE, May 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- Research from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center exposes alarming gaps in training hospital residents in "first response" emergency treatment of staged cardiorespiratory arrests in children, while at the same time offering a potent recipe for fixing the problem.

The research was conducted just before the release of the 2005 American Heart Association's practice guidelines focusing on strengthening first-response skills, which suggests that at least some of the findings in the study may paint a grimmer picture than current reality, researchers say. And changes already made to the Hopkins resident training program beginning in 2005 have resulted significant improvement, they add.

The Hopkins study, now available online and to be published in the July print issue of the journal Resuscitation, revealed critical mistakes during life-saving maneuvers like chest …