Abstract: PURPOSE: To explore the effect of role-play in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) teaching for dental students. METHODS: The experimental group included 40 students from grade 2011 while the control group included 41 students from grade 2010 in College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Students in the control group were taught in traditional method, while those in the experimental group were taught using role play method. At the end of the course, we compared the outcome of theoretic test and skill evaluation about CPR. Evaluation of role-play in the experimental group was conducted by questionnaire survey. SPSS13.0 software package was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The results of theoretic test and skill evaluation in the experimental group were significantly better than those of the control group (P<0.05). The result of questionnaire showed that role-play was approved by over 80% students. CONCLUSIONS: Role-play is advantageous over traditional teaching for dental students and can improve students’ comprehensive ability and CPR skill.

Key words: Role-play teaching methodology, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Medical education