MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Approximately 115 new West Virginia University medical students were trained in lifesaving, bleeding-control skills they will carry with them throughout their upcoming medical careers and education.  

Stop the Bleed^® training took place on Aug. 2 through the coordinated efforts of the WVU Medicine Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center, the WVU Simulation Training and Education for Patient Safety (STEPS) at the WVU Health Sciences Center, the WVU Critical Care and Trauma Institute, and WVU Medicine Children’s.

“These skills are foundational to the medical training the medical students will receive over the next several years and will also help to formulate a relationship between Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center staff, our STEPS lab educators, and our trauma surgeons,” Eric Small, M.B.A., M.S.N., R.N., WVU Medicine trauma outreach and injury prevention coordinator, said. “We are thrilled to be a part of welcoming these burgeoning medical professionals and look forward to being a part of their training in the future.”

The training was not limited to Stop the Bleed but also included Narcan® injection administration. To meet the legal requirements to administer naloxone as part of medical job duties, medical students must undergo training.

Daniel Summers, R.N., B.S.N., C.H.S.E., director of WV STEPS, said the main goal of the training is to provide the incoming class of medical students with basic lifesaving skills they can use to save a life in certain emergency situations.

“CPR training is not only required for those that work in the healthcare field. Anywhere at any time it can make a difference between life and death for not only a stranger but perhaps a family member,” Summers said. “And now, more than ever, Narcan training is becoming vital. It teaches you to recognize and respond to someone that has an opioid overdose.”

Gregory Schaefer, D.O., medical director of surgical care at the Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center; Kennith “Conley” Coleman, D.O., assistant professor of trauma, acute care surgery, and surgical critical care; and School of Medicine faculty and staff assisted in the event.

For more information on Stop the Bleed training, contact Eric Small at eric.small@wvumedicine.org or visit StopTheBleed.org.

For more information on trauma services at WVU Medicine, visit WVUMedicine.org/Trauma.