• Richard A Sidwell, Sarah K Spilman, Richard S Huntsman, and Carlos A Pelaez.
• Trauma Surgery, The Iowa Clinic, UnityPoint Health, Des Moines, IA; Department of Trauma Services, UnityPoint Health, Des Moines, IA; General Surgery Residency Program, UnityPoint Health, Des Moines, IA.
• J. Am. Coll. Surg. 2018 Feb 1; 226 (2): 160-164.

BackgroundSeveral national initiatives are aimed at training citizens to assist bleeding victims. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an effort to quickly and efficiently teach basic bleeding control techniques to a clinical and nonclinical workforce.Study DesignThe research study was conducted at 4 hospitals in a mid-sized metropolitan area. In spring 2017, the trauma department at a Level I trauma center set an ambitious goal to provide hands-on training to 1,000 employees during the course of 6 weeks. Trainings occurred in small groups and lasted approximately 6 to 10 minutes, during which time participants were taught and practiced 2 skills: packing a wound and holding direct pressure, and applying a stretch-wrap-and-tuck tourniquet. Participants completed pre- and post-surveys indicating their likelihood to use these skills.ResultsMore than 1,000 individuals were trained, and there were survey data for 870 participants. More than 40% of participants worked in nonclinical roles and 29% had no first aid or medical training. After completing skills training, 98% of participants indicated that they would be likely to take action to assist a bleeding victim and that they could correctly apply direct pressure or a tourniquet to control severe bleeding.ConclusionsResults demonstrate that basic hemorrhage control skills can be taught to clinical and nonclinical people in brief, hands-on training. Efforts like this can be deployed across large workplace environments to prepare the maximum number of employees to take action to assist bleeding victims.Copyright © 2017 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

14 keywords...

hide…