A Comparative Study of Lecture and Discussion Methods in the Education of Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support for Medical Students

Methods Over a 2-year period, 155 fourth to fifth-year medical students in the emergency department were given educational sessions on basic life support (BLS) and adult advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS). These sessions were given by a single instructor in a traditional lecture format, in a small-group discussion, or in a combination of these two methods. Prior to the instructional sessions, students anonymously completed a 20-question multiple-choice examination on the covered topics. At the completion of sessions, students repeated the same multiple-choice examination. They also completed an evaluation form on the instructional format, using a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree).