Stop the Bleed® in medical schools: Early advocacy and promising results

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.0477

Keywords:

STB, bleeding control, hemorrhage control, trauma, disaster, Stop the Bleed®

Abstract

Objective: We hypothesized that medical students would be empowered by hemorrhage-control training and would support efforts to include Stop the Bleed® (STB) in medical education.

Design: This is a multi-institution survey study. Surveys were administered immediately following and 6 months after the course.

Setting: This study took place at the Association of American Medical Colleges-accredited medical schools in the United States.

Participants: Participants were first-year medical students at participating institutions. A total of 442 students completed post-course surveys, and 213 students (48.2 percent) also completed 6-month follow-up surveys.

Intervention: An 1-hour, in-person STB course.

Main outcomes measures: Student empowerment was measured by Likert-scale scoring, 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). The usage of hemorrhage- control skills was also measured.

Results: A total of 419 students (95.9 percent) affirmed that the course taught the basics of bleeding control, and 169 (79.3 percent) responded positively at follow-up, with a significant decrease in Likert response (4.65, 3.87, p < 0.001). Four hundred and twenty-three students (97.0 percent) affirmed that they would apply bleeding control skills to a patient, and 192 (90.1 percent) responded positively at follow-up (4.61, 4.19, p < 0.001). Three hundred and sixty-one students (82.8 percent) believed that they were able to save a life, and 109 (51.2 percent) responded positively at follow-up (4.14, 3.56, p < 0.001). Four hundred and twenty-five students (97.0 percent) would recommend the course to another medical student, and 196 (92.0 percent) responded positively at follow-up (4.68, 4.31, p < 0.001). Six students (2.8 percent) used skills on live patients, with success in five of the six instances.

Conclusions: Medical students were empowered by STB and have used hemorrhage-control skills on live victims. Medical students support efforts to include STB in medical education.

Author Biographies

Jeremy Fridling, MD

Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut Health, Farmington, Connecticut

Brad Chernock, MD

Department of Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey

Tessa Goebel, MD

Department of Emergency Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morganton, West Virginia

Alyssa Tutunjian, MD

Department of Surgery, University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York

Adam D. Fox, DO

Department of Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey

Jane Keating, MD

Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut Health, Farmington, Connecticut

Lenworth Jacobs, MD, MPH

Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut Health, Farmington, Connecticut

References

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Published

04/01/2024

How to Cite

Fridling, J., B. Chernock, T. Goebel, A. Tutunjian, A. D. Fox, J. Keating, and L. Jacobs. “Stop the Bleed® in Medical Schools: Early Advocacy and Promising Results”. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, vol. 19, no. 2, Apr. 2024, pp. 131-7, doi:10.5055/ajdm.0477.

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