A survey of basic life support training in various undergraduate health care professions.

Basic life support (BLS) is a core skill in which all healthcare professionals should be proficient. It is logical to provide BLS training during undergraduate years ensuring basic competence in all graduating healthcare students. Previous surveys of medical and dental schools have highlighted deficiencies in BLS training. This survey sought to assess the level of BLS training provided for students across a broad range of disciplines in the North West region of the UK. This included courses leading to an entry qualification into medicine, dentistry, nursing, midwifery or a profession allied to medicine (PAM). Information was collected by self-administered postal questionnaire with a response rate of 87%. The survey highlighted major variations in BLS training provided at undergraduate level across disciplines.