A number of the faculty members of the UQU College of Applied Medical Sciences, Department of Clinical Nutrition, have passed a basic life support (BLS) course accredited by the Saudi Heart Association. Participants in the course from the college are: Dr. Samaa S. al-Saadaa, associate professor, Dr. Al-Sayed H. Bakr, assistant professor, Mr. Fayyadh A. Zada, instructor, and Mr. Abdul-Elah S. Jazar, instructor.

The course tackled cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) operation, which involves several artificial processes conducted to any person suffering failure or dysfunction of any of the body systems (central nervous system, heart and cardiovascular system, and respiratory system). The goal of this operation, as such, is to make the affected system function properly, or, in the least, maintain an adequate quantity of oxygen in the body till a competent medical crew takes over.

The basic CPR operation involves some medical actions, such as: making sure that the respiratory tract (airway) is open, providing a respirator (breathing), chest-circulation. Those three actions (i.e., airway, breathing, and circulation) are usually referred to by the initials: ABC. The order of those actions varies from adults to children.

Airway blockage: There are several reasons that might cause airway blockage, such as: foreign object in the respiratory tract (food, small toy, etc.), and most commonly, tongue swallowing. The main focus of the course was: how to handle such cases that require instant intervention.