Two-day primary trauma care workshop: early and late evaluation of knowledge and practice

The management of multiply injured trauma patients is a skill requiring broad knowledge and remarkable skills. The aim of the primary trauma care (PTC) module is to orient medical staff to the initial assessment of an injured patient. This workshop was held in the Education Development Center of Tabriz Medical University in April, September, and November 2007. The participants were given lectures, completed practices, and case scenarios about the management of traumatic patients. All participants were given a pretest and a post-test including a questionnaire and procedural skill exams. Finally, the same post-tests were performed 6-12 months later. Sixty-four individuals were interested in attending the workshop from the total of 90 invited, and 53 individuals responded to the late post-test. The mean score in the pretest, early post-test, and late post-test was 18.84, 26.72, and 22.17, respectively (P<0.001). Most of the medical staff did not have sufficient knowledge of basic PTC. We have shown that the incorporation of hands-on patient scenarios into an expanded course on the basis of PTC principles helps medical staff gain the knowledge and skills needed to perform the primary survey sequence correctly. Furthermore, extra educational planning seems to be necessary to retain these abilities as needed. European Journal of Emergency Medicine 20:130-132 (c) 2013 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.