Lifelong training, retraining, reskilling, upskilling and knowledge gaps in emergency medicine: a cross-sectional survey study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Identifying and managing medical emergencies presents challenges in healthcare, where familiarity with established algorithms is essential for high-quality care. This study assessed healthcare professionals’ understanding of the latest resuscitation guidelines and explored their views on lifelong training models. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used two multiple-choice questionnaires with 50 questions developed by academic emergency and critical care consultants based on the 2021 Consensus on Science with Treatment Recommendations (CoSTRs) by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR). Healthcare staff involved in emergency coverage completed assessments on emergency management, self-evaluated their knowledge, and shared perspectives on continuous workplace education. RESULTS: Of the 1,427 distributed questionnaires, 1,034 (72.5%) were completed. Knowledge gaps were more pronounced for pediatric algorithms from the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) and American Heart Association (AHA) compared to adult protocols (P<0.001). In multivariate logistic regression, being a physician, holding a Master of Science (MSc) degree, and younger age were independently associated with passing scores ≥70% (all P<0.001). Most participants (97.3%) favored brief, employer-funded teamwork refresher sessions every 4–6 months over the current four-year training model (0.6%) (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: This study highlights healthcare life support providers’ insufficient expertise in current resuscitation guidelines. The importance of short-format retraining, upskilling, and reskilling programs with post-training assessments is evident, as most respondents expressed a strong learning motivation to participate if employer-funded.