1196: Skill Retention After Traditional Versus Video Resuscitation Training in Filipino Nursing Students

INTRODUCTION: The Philippines has a high neonatal mortality rate Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) simulation training has been shown to reduce early neonatal mortality with a focus on initiating bag mask ventilation (BMV) within the first minute of life The frequency and interval for refresher training to ensure competence in HBB skills is not well-described This study was conducted to assess the retention of resuscitation skills by Filipino nursing students when refresher HBB coursework is delivered via traditional in-person instruction compared to coursework delivered via remote telecoaching (video), with time to initiate BMV as the primary outcome METHODS: Nursing students in Mati, Philippines (n=49) were traditionally trained in HBB;validated OSCE was used to assess pre-training and post-training skills Students were divided into 2 month, 4 month, and 6 month follow-up and further divided within these time-based groups into video (V) or traditional (T) follow-up, for a total of 6 novel groups OSCE was administered to test skill retention at follow-up RESULTS: No student successfully performed BMV prior to 1 minute during pre-testing;immediately post-training, 73% of students performed BMV prior to 1 minute with an average time of 57 9 seconds Students retested at 2 months averaged of 83 7 s and students retested for the first time at 4 months averaged 90 2 s prior to BMV initiation Students tested for a second time at 4 months, following their initial retraining at 2 months, initiated BMV at an average of 70 4 s There was no significant difference in individual decay of time to initiation of BVM between video and traditional trainees at 4 month follow-up (p=0 77) Due to COVID-19 restrictions, 6 month follow-up was unable to be completed CONCLUSIONS: Skill decay was evident in both groups, with time to initiate BMV increasing between assessments However, with a single refresher training, decay declined;it is likely this trend would continue with more frequent training The finding of no significant difference between time to BMV after video vs traditional re-training suggests that virtual training may be a reasonable alternative in the future This may be particularly important in the current era of educational modifications necessitated by pandemic travel restrictions