Stop the Bleed: Does the Training Work One Month Out?

The Stop the Bleed initiative empowers and trains citizens as immediate responders, to recognize and control severe hemorrhage. We sought to determine the retention of short-term knowledge and ability to apply a Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT) in 10 nonmedical personnel. A standard "Stop the Bleed" (Bleeding Control) course was taught including CAT application. Posttraining performance was assessed at 30 days using a standardized mannequin with a traumatic below-knee amputation. Technique, time, pitfalls, and feedback were all recorded. No participant had placed a CAT before the initial class. After the initial class, self-report by a Likert scale survey revealed an increased confidence in tourniquet application from 2.4 pretraining to 4.7 posttraining. At 30 days, confidence decreased to 3.4 before testing. Six of 10 were successful at tourniquet placement. Completion time was 77.75 seconds (43-157 seconds). Successful participants reported a confidence level of 4.7