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

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.