Integrating the Bleeding Control Basic course into medical school curriculum

Background: The American College of Surgeons has pioneered hemorrhage control through its lifesaving bleeding control (BCon) basics course. A gap exists in teaching these skills to medical students. We sought to integrate BCon into the medical school curriculum. Methods: BCon programs taught to entering Year 1 medical students in Academic Years 2017–2018. Post-course surveys assessed effectiveness of teaching and learner confidence in performing skills. Refreshers in Year 2 and Year 3 of study were implemented to reinforce skills. Results: Post-course surveys (n = 348) showed that 98% of students felt that they were effectively taught how to stop bleeding and 92% felt comfortable using these skills. Conclusion: The BCon program is feasible to implement in medical school. It is easily integrated into pre-existing curricula in addition to other life support skills taught to medical students. Bleeding control is increasingly a topic of national concern with mass casualty incidents. We used a peer training model to teach BCon techniques to all our medical students on entry into medical school and these skills were refreshed longitudinally in the next two years. Combining BCon training with other basic life support skills training is feasible and medical students find this training effective.