Students and emergency medicine: what is the standard level of first aid knowledge?

Background: First aid is a critical skill, and knowing how to perform it may ultimately save a person’s life. Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to assess the level of first aid knowledge among students from three backgrounds: medicine, science, and the humanities. Material and methods:The authors surveyed a group of 180 fifth-year physiotherapy, geoinformatics, and psychology students, of which there were 60 from each discipline. The authors used an anonymous survey of their own design, composed of open- and closed-ended questions, which included 15 questions about first aid rules. The research was conducted in Wrocław, Poland. Results: Only 60 students (30.33%) had previously had the opportunity to receive first aid training during the course of their studies. An additional 100 students (55.56%) claimed they were familiar with first aid rules. Of the physiotherapy students, 32 (53.3%) declared they would remain calm and composed in an emergency situation, with men claiming they would remain more composed than women. The difference in behaviour turned out to be statistically significant; the value of the chi-square test was 13.74. Students who had had prior first aid training at university were the most familiar with life-saving techniques and claimed they would remain the most composed in an emergency situation (32 students from physiotherapy; 53:3%). Prior to taking the first aid exam, the majority of students (100 respondents; 55.6% of the total) were confident that they would obtain the maximum number of points possible on the test. However, upon completion, they were found to have a medium level of knowledge at 889 points out of 1,500, or 59%. Conclusions: The level of first aid knowledge among university students should be dramatically improved, so they are able to perform first aid with some level of expertise, should the need ever arise. To facilitate this, every university should include first aid classes in their curriculum. First aid techniques should be revised and refreshed every six months.