A longitudinal cohort study to investigate the retention of knowledge and skills following attendance on the Newborn Life support course.

AIM: To investigate whether airway management and non-invasive ventilatory skills are retained after the Neonatal Life support (NLS) course.
METHODS: Candidates who attended and passed the NLS course were retested by two registered instructors using the NLS 'airway testing sheet' unannounced at 3-5 and 12-14 months after their NLS course. Prior to the test, they were also asked to complete a proforma, indicating their own assessment of their competence in being able to effectively carry out all the items used in the NLS airway test.
RESULTS: Sixty-seven candidates were tested at 3-5 months, 26 (39%) passed first time, 34 (51%) on retest and 7 (10%) failed. At 12-14 months, 43 were tested, 19 (44%) passed on first attempt, 22 (51%) on retest and 2 (5%) failed. At 12-14 months, more candidates exposed to more than five resuscitations per month passed first time compared to those who were exposed to less than one resuscitation per month (p=0.029). More candidates who were offered resuscitation training at 6 monthly intervals compared to at yearly intervals passed the test on their first attempt at 3-5 months (p=0.022). Self-assessment of competence was not different between candidates who passed and those who failed.
CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that skills when tested in a simulated scenario are highly likely to have deteriorated within a few months of attending the NLS course. There is a need for research to determine whether deteriorations in skills after the NLS, as assessed by simulation, correlate with deterioration of skills in clinical practice.