Instructors--a weak link in resuscitation training.

One explanation for the well documented poor basic resuscitation skills of health-care professionals is that these skills are not acquired during initial training. The first aim of our study was to assess the basic life-support skills of trainers teaching basic resuscitation. The second aim was to examine the relationship between the trainers' confidence and actual skill. We found that practical basic life-support skills prior to the two-day training course were poor. They were still inadequate after training. Assessments before and after the course showed significant positive correlation between confidence at performing basic life-support and actual skill. There is an urgent need for formal instructor training in the UK. The training programme should be evaluated, as should the performance of both trainers and trainees, to ensure that all have acquired the requisite skills.