Impact of Interactive Skills Sessions on Medical Students Learning AWLS

Summary: To expand wilderness medicine education for medical students, the Advanced Wilderness Life Support elective course at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University was developed and piloted. The course is a one-week introduction to wilderness medicine approaches, treatments, and working with limited resources. This course consisted of a unique format of daily lectures followed by afternoon simulations, hands-on practice, and practical skills. Topics included performing primary and secondary surveys in the backcountry, basic preparedness, and various wilderness emergencies. Students participated in simulations incorporating these topics, culminating in a written exam and a practical skills exam. Passing both exams resulted in Advanced Wilderness Life Support certification. Ten students participated in the course. Students received a survey pre- and post-course to assess their knowledge of the information taught. The results of the survey showed the median score improved from 65% pretest to 85% post-test. Results indicate an improvement in knowledge following the AWLS course. A second survey was given to gauge the impact of the hands-on sessions with four questions using a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being ‘did not have an impact’, 5 being ‘crucial to learning’). Six students (86%) felt that hands-on skills were important to learning and retaining the content taught in this course (43% rated 4, 43% rated 5). Five students (71%) completely agreed (rated 5) that their confidence in recognizing and appropriately treating wilderness medicine emergencies benefited from the hands-on sessions compared to lectures only. Regarding retention, five students (71%) rated 4, one student rated 3, and one student rated 2 (1=do not feel confident in my skills; 5=feel confident in my skills). Overall, these results indicate that interactive, hands-on sessions enhance the learning experience for students, potentially improve retention, and should be considered integral components of wilderness medicine elective courses.