American Training Neonatal Resuscitation Program: an experience in its implementation in Oman

Objective: Resuscitation is performed more frequently in the neonatal period than at any other period of life. The purpose of this program is to assure that at every delivery there is someone who is skilled in neonatal resuscitation and additional skilled staff readily available to assist. Design: The program contains six lessons, each of which addresses a different skill of resuscitation. This allows an individual to acquire a skill and master it before learning another and permits tailoring the program to match one's job reponsibilities. The program is self-instructional, self-paced, with an instructor available to answer questions, assist with practice, and administer written and performance tests. Setting: Twelve courses have been conducted between Sept., 1992 to Sept., 1994 at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH): 9 courses for providers and 3 courses for instructors. The course has been conducted for 18 hours regularly every other month. Each course and performance of the teaching staff were evaluated by the participants. The overall two years' activity was evaluated by a committee from the concerned departments. Results & evaluation: The number of participants were 92 in provider's courses and 8 in instructor's courses. Eighty percent of the providers were from SQUH. The majority of the participants felt the duration of the course was adequate. Its contents covered all aspects of neonatal resuscitation and was informative and useful. The presentations were well organized and the self-paced instruction and practical demonstrations were effective. Conclusion: The design of this program will enable any hospital, regardless of size or geographic location, to have its own Neonatal Resuscitation Program. Its self-instructional format allows individuals to study at their own pace, making it readily available to new staff and easily implemented on all shifts.