Efficacy of First Aid Training in the Curriculum of First Year Medical Students

Background First Aid First (FAF) provides free and accessible first aid training to members of the Detroit community, including first-year medical students, to empower individuals to respond quickly properly, and confidently during real life emergencies. Methods First aid training sessions last 1.5 hours, and are taught by Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSUSOM) medical students and physicians. FAF trains incoming WSUSOM medical students on CPR, Stop the Bleed, and many more skills. Didactic instruction and hands-on demonstration allows participants to practice skills under the guidance of trained instructors. A pre-/post 20-question quiz on emergency responses and any prior first aid training and certification were recorded. 321 pre-test responses and 310 post-test responses were collected. Results Of the participants, 181 had no prior emergency response certification, 126 held a CPR certification, 91 had received training in Basic Life Support (BLS), and 39 had completed EMT training. We conducted a two-tailed, independent T-test to determine whether there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores. The resulting p-value of Conclusion The FAF training program improves the knowledge of incoming medical students to respond and act appropriately in emergencies. As physicians in training, medical students should be prepared to respond to out-of-hospital health emergencies. Thus, the FAF training program should be incorporated into the medical education curriculum.