Cardiopulmonary resuscitation training to keep nurses’ skills and knowledge up to date is essential because performing basic life support can be a rare and frightening event. Given a sharp rise in CPR-related referrals to the NMC, debrief conversations are essential too for nurse well-being and patient safety. They enable nurses to identify effective performance as well as how their practice needs improvement. Retired nurse and article author Jane Bates recalls performing CPR while a student nurse in the 1970s and her shock after the event – despite the patient’s survival. She describes having regular mandatory CPR updates in her career, but not debriefs.