The survival rate of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is low in Korea. We believe the cause of this low survival rate is caused by the absence of instrumentation, the lack of manpower and by poor education quality of in-hospital CPR. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the current state of resident education with respect to cardiopulmonary resuscitation and its likely effect.

We surveyed anesthesiologists who attended the Korean Society of Anesthesiologist Congress. The questionnaire items concerned the followings; 1) The type of supplementary materials used during CPR education; 2) The Duration and frequency of CPR education according to resident grades and hospital scales; 3) The actual CPR participation frequency in a year; 4) The composition of the CPR teams in wards and ICUs; and 5) The effectiveness of CPR education as assessed by anesthesiologists.

Most of participating anesthesiologists in this survey worked at large hospitals with more than 500 beds. They had received an irregular schedule of CPR education. Most education programs consisted of lectures, and education time was less than 2 hours. The number of actual CPR participations was about 10 per year. Usually the trainees, other than certified anesthesiologists, had resuscitated patients in wards. Most of the responders believed that current education was ineffective.

We conclude that CPR education is not fully effective. If we want to increase the survival rate of CPR, we should pay more attention to the education program and to its utility and training requirements.