Overview of Basic Life Support Knowledge Among Nursing Students in Tangerang

As prospective healthcare professionals, nursing students must possess comprehensive knowledge of Basic Life Support, as they may be required to act as first responders during emergency situations. The prompt and appropriate administration of Basic Life Support constitutes the initial intervention that should be provided in cases of cardiac arrest. Preliminary studies have shown that some students still do not understand several important aspects of BLS, particularly resuscitation algorithms, indications for terminating cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and pharmacological therapy according to the latest guidelines. This study aimed to describe the level of Basic Life Support knowledge among final-year undergraduate nursing students and professional (internship) nursing students at a university in Tangerang. This research employed a quantitative descriptive design with a cross-sectional approach. Purposive sampling was used to recruit a total of 256 respondents, which constituted the final sample size of the study. Data were collected using a BLS knowledge questionnaire which had been tested for validity and reliability. Most respondents had a good level of BLS knowledge, namely 219 respondents (85.5%), while 34 respondents (13.3%) had sufficient knowledge and 3 respondents (1.2%) had poor knowledge. Both final-year and graduate nurse resident were predominantly in the good knowledge category. However, item analysis revealed low scores on questions related to termination of CPR in hospital settings (5.89/10.00) and pharmacological therapy in resuscitation (6.98/10.00). Overall, the level of Basic Life Support knowledge among nursing students was categorized as good. Nevertheless, periodic reinforcement of BLS learning through training, simulation, and continuous evaluation remains necessary to improve students’ preparedness for emergency situations, especially regarding indications for terminating CPR and the use of medications in resuscitation.