Stop the Bleed in the Era of Virtual Learning: A Novel Strategy for Remote Teaching and Evaluation

Traumatic hemorrhage is a leading cause of preventable mortality worldwide. The Stop the Bleed (STB) course was developed to equip layperson bystanders with basic bleeding control knowledge and skills. However, large in-person courses have been disrupted due to COVID-19. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of teaching and evaluating STB skills through remote video-based instruction.

After undergoing COVID-19 screening, groups of up to eight STB-naive adults were seated in a socially distanced manner and given individual practice kits. A remote STB-certified instructor provided the standard STB lecture and led a 10-min skills practice session via videoconferencing. Participants' skills were evaluated on a 10-point rubric by one in-person evaluator and three remote evaluators. Participants completed a postcourse survey assessing their perceptions of the course.

Thirty-five participants completed the course, all scoring ≥8/10 after examination by the in-person evaluator. Remote instructors' average scores (9.8 ± 0.45) did not significantly differ from scores of the in-person evaluator (9.9 ± 0.37) (P = 0.252). Thirty-three participants (94%) completed the postcourse survey. All respondents reported being willing and prepared to intervene in scenarios of life-threatening hemorrhage, and 97% reported confidence in using all STB skills.

STB skills can be effectively taught and evaluated through a live video-based course. All participants scored highly when evaluated both in-person and remotely, and nearly all reported confidence in skills and knowledge following the course. Remote instruction is a valuable strategy to disseminate STB training to students without access to in-person courses, especially during pandemic restrictions.