VYSHKIL — Training of Survival: A New Approach to Train Civilians First Aid Skills

Abstract

Background. It’s a well-known fact that during wars, the number of civilian deaths surpasses soldier ones. In Ukraine, the first aid training has been based on an outdated education system that does not teach practical skills. The revision of the formal approach to teaching skills is essential. It should be practically oriented with highly qualified instructors in newly created simulation centers. Only repeated training can save humans’ life in an emergency. Materials and methods. VYSHKIL consists of 2 main parts — theoretical and practical. Time: 2 hours. The theoretical part is provided by a military surgeon and contains an animated lecture with clinical cases (30 min), a practical demonstration (allows to see the practical skill and ask the questions (step 1–2)). The practical part is provided by 6 main trainers, who demonstrate all practical skills similarly to the lection material (step 3) and allow students to try on the MARCH algorithm procedures (step 4). Duration: 1.5 h. All civilians should visit every station, therefore there is a limitation of participants — max 60. Results. Sixty-two training sessions were held. Three thousand and seventy-six Ukrainians were trained with this program. 57 % — people without medical education, 26 % — subjects who work in educational institutions, 13 % — military soldiers, and 4 % — surgeons. The average age was 35.3 years old. The feedback form includes points for theoretical and practical parts. People assess the usefulness of the lecture in 9.6 out of 10 points and memorization of practical skills in 9.4 out of 10 points. That means a high level of interpretation of material. Conclusions. A combination of the adapted algorithm with our own education system VYSHKIL based on advanced teaching by Python helps trainees to memorize, train and repeat the practical skills, thus a civilian will be able to use it in an emergency. VYSHKIL helps to remember the mnemonic algorithm (MARCH) in the extreme situation.