American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma "Stop the Bleed Program": Quantifying the Impact of Training Upon Public School Educators Readiness

Authors

Luciano A. Ciraulo, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME, USA.
Nicolas A. Ciraulo, University of New England, Biddeford, ME, USA.
Rocco S. Ciraulo, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME, USA.
Grant D. Robaczewski, Department of Surgery, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME, USA.
Katherine P. Andreasen, Department of Surgery, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME, USA.
Carolyne R. Falank, Department of Surgery, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME, USA.Follow
Julianne B. Ontengco, Department of Surgery, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME, USA.Follow
David L. Ciraulo

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-2020

Institution/Department

Trauma & Acute Care Surgery

Journal Title

The American Surgeon

MeSH Headings

Disaster Planning; Hemorrhage (etiology, therapy); Humans; Mass Casualty Incidents; School Health Services; Schools; Teacher Training (methods, organization & administration); United States; Wounds and Injuries (etiology, therapy)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: School violence continues to afflict our educational institutions. In response, an institutional initiative was launched to train educators and school support staff in life-saving skills aimed at hemorrhage control. METHODS: The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma "Stop the Bleed" (STB) Program was promoted as a quality improvement initiative to schools within the geographic catchment area of this Level I Trauma Center. Participants were given the opportunity to take precourse, and postcourse confidence inventories using a Likert Scale. Statistical analysis of the 324 precourse to postcourse evaluations measuring change in confidence was used to evaluate improvement in readiness of school systems to respond in mass casualty incidents. RESULTS: Students enrolled in the STB Program were offered the opportunity to assess their confidence precourse and postcourse in reference to 7 questions. Precourse and postcourse Likert Scale inventories were compared and analyzed to assess the strength of the improvement in confidence using Student's -test, where < .05 is statistically significant. Students demonstrated improvement ( < .006) that was statistically significant across all 7-question relating to enhance confidence postcourse compared with the precourse. DISCUSSION: This STB quality initiative has demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the confidence of teachers and school personnel to render lifesaving care in the event of a mass casualty or isolated incident of life-threatening hemorrhage. These results support the validity of the training in making a difference in this subpopulation of responders.

First Page

1520

Last Page

1524

Recommended Citation

Ciraulo LA, Ciraulo NA, Ciraulo RS, et al. American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma "Stop the Bleed Program": Quantifying the Impact of Training Upon Public School Educators Readiness. Am Surg. 2020;86(11):1520-1524. doi:10.1177/0003134820933550