N. Tully1, T. Dang1, M. Bhatia1, M. Aranke1, D. Vyas1 1Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center,Department Of Surgery,Lubbock, TX, USA
Introduction: Morbidity and mortality for trauma accidents in rural settings is nearly 3 times as high as in urban settings in the United States [1]. In both developed and developing countries, most morbidity due to trauma occurs in the prehospital period [2]. This increase in morbidity and mortality is, in part, due to a lack of appropriate critical care education of first responders in rural settings. The First Responder Trauma and Emergency Care Program aims to address this problem through implementation of a four-tiered trauma education program, which incorporates high-fidelity simulation, video-recorded debriefing, and retraining [4]. Previous studies show that this approach can be an effective strategy for teaching prehospital trauma management skills [5]. Additionally, this innovative educational program has been shown to be efficacious in improving first responder confidence in management of trauma [6].
Objective:
To assess the efficacy of a trauma care training program in West Texas.
Methods:
The First Responder Trauma and Emergency Care Program uses an interactive model of lectures, followed by breakout sessions where program participants practice the skills discussed in simulation environments. Simulation has previously been shown to be a useful tool in the training of trauma-related clinical skills [3]. This session was intended to test proof of concept of this type training being useful in West Texas, where sparse population and isolated location make trauma care uniquely challenging and similar in many ways to trauma care in the developing world. This study aims to assess whether the program is effective in improving specific skills related to trauma care.
Results: The change in confidence of medical students was significant; t(8)=0.005, p=0.013. While no other groups showed significant changes in competence or confidence, there was demonstrated improvement in all groups.
Conclusion: The initial assessments point towards the First Responder Trauma and Emergency Care Program being a worthwhile effort in the West Texas region. This pilot study also shows that the sessions are likely effective in improving confidence and competence of first responders, but further studies are needed to assess whether this program produces a significant difference in these areas. Future efforts will include recreation of this session in the cities of Lubbock and Amarillo, further analysis of data points collected from these additional sessions, and determination of what additional locations would benefit from these sessions in addition to analysis of the efficacy of the program in improving trauma care. A multicenter study of this trauma program has been conducted, the results of which are due to be presented at this meeting.
