Objective: To determine the influence of stress on teaching medical emergencies in an Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) course and to verify this influence on learning, and the efficiency of emergency care training.
Methods: Seventeen physicians signed up for an ACLS course. Their pulses were taken and blood pressure (BP) verified on the first day, before the beginning of the course, and on the second day, during the theoretical and practical test (TPT). Variations in pulse rates and BP were compared with students' test grades. Then, students answered a questionnaire of variables (QV) about the amount of sleep they had during the course, the quantity of study material and the time spent studying for the course, and a stress scale graphic.
Results: Seven students had a pulse variation less than 10% between the 2 periods and 10 had a 10% or more variation. Grades on TPT were, respectively, 91.4+/-2.4 and 87.3+/-5.2 (p<0.05). Six students had a BP variation less than 20 mmHg, and in 11 it varied more than 21 mmHg. Grades on the TPT were 92.3+/-3.3 and 86.2+/- 8.1, respectively (p<0.05). The QV dates did not significantly influence grades.
Conclusion: Stress, as an isolated variable, had a negative influence on the learning process and on the efficiency of emergency training in this situation.