How Prepared Are You For A Medical Emergency? [Surprising Survey Results]

Some time ago, We asked some of our customers to complete a survey assessing their ability to intervene in an emergency trauma incident.
The results surprised me, and I think they will surprise you also.

We learned a lot about our audiences' familiarity with emergency trauma care by looking at the data.

emergency trauma training

For a long time, we focused primarily on self-defense handgun skills, mindset, and legal issues. Somewhere along the way, we realized the importance of also providing training in emergency trauma care. That is why we started Mountain Man Medical.

The sister company is the place to go for emergency trauma kits AND a blog filled with incredible insight and explanations into how to provide emergency trauma care. I'm not talking about a first-aid CPR class. Instead, you have access to detailed instructions on how you can save a life by using simple trauma gear properly. You should check out the Mountain Man Medical YouTube Channel as well.

Total Survey Stats:

Responses: 2579

Number of Questions: 4 or 6 depending on one's response to the first question

Completion Rate: 97.2%

Average Time to Complete: 1:47

Question 1: Have You Ever Received Any Formal First Aid and/or Emergency Medical Training?

If you think about it, this probably rings true for most of us. After all, you probably have received some training. Maybe in school, the boy scouts, or even as an adult as part of your job.

The American Heart Association and the Red Cross have made finding local training classes at an affordable price even easier. For example, last month, I personally completed a $35 Red Cross online First-Aid class. The course ran 2 hours and 45 minutes and I did it all from my computer.

You also have the Stop The Bleed campaign, which has spread across the US quickly with broad support from our industry and offers free and low-cost training options as well.

Question 2: How long ago did you receive training (most recently):

The answers to this question surprised me. I didn't expect such a large portion of our audience to have received recent, formal training. A combined 44.3% that have received some formal training say they received their training within the last 3 years.

A combined 35% haven't had any training for at least 10 years.

A combined 55.3% haven't had any training for at least 4 years. Slightly more than 1/2 of respondents haven't had any training in the last 4 years, and for more than half of those, it has been over 10 years.

Question 3: Have you received any of the following training or certifications?

Here is where the “Story” really starts to develop for me. 80.6% have first aid certifications, and 88.1% have CPR certifications. That makes sense since organizations like the Red Cross, American Heart Association, and Boy Scouts primarily focus on basic first aid and CPR training.

Beyond CPR and First-Aid, there aren't many common, civilian-accessible training options that focus on more severe trauma and injury. If someone is injured in a severe car crash, or from a gunshot, or any number of other serious situations, they are likely in need of some specific trauma care.

CPR certainly is a valuable skill to have, but the point here is that while 80% of people have received formal training, the VAST MAJORITY of that training is basic first aid and CPR.

Question 4: Have you ever been present at a medical emergency before first responders arrived?

Of all the questions in the survey, the answers to this one surprised me the most. I have a hard time believing that only 65% of people have ever been present at a medical emergency where they could have administered aid before the professionals arrived.

After all, haven't most of us been in (or at least driven past) a significant car accident before EMTs arrived? I suspect we would have done better to ask the question differently. For example, what percentage of people would have said yes if I had asked: “Have you ever been to the emergency room?”

Perhaps we don't think about these situations because they feel normal, or maybe the way each of us would define “emergency” is different … or perhaps I way overestimate how many of us have been there.

Question 5: Do you regularly have emergency medical gear and/or equipment:

Here is another question that is a little too vague to be precise. How many people who took this survey would count ANY first-aid kit as qualifying. I estimate that 80% of people have a basic first aid kit in the home, and 62.7% have one in their car. Sadly a basic first aid kit with bandaids, aspirin, and a few pieces of gauze doesn't help in a major emergency with profound blood loss.

That said, I'm delighted to see that almost 19% of people regularly have some sort of medical kit on their person. That is better than I expected.

Question 6: Which of the below procedures, conditions, or emergencies do you feel comfortable performing or addressing with your current level of training and knowledge

The self-reported abilities of our audience are relatively high for the use of tourniquets and performing CPR. These numbers make sense to some degree. However, I wonder how their self-reported comfort aligns with actual training and ability.

For example, when I ask someone to apply a tourniquet in training classes, I generally find that while most understand the basic concept enough to get the tourniquet on and apply some pressure, many fail to do it properly.

Also worth noting is the low percentage of people who feel comfortable using a chest seal, a hemostatic dressing, or caring for someone with head trauma.

Ask Yourself These Questions

In summary, you may not be average, but given the odds of needing, or being able to, save someone's life in a critical incident, I encourage you to pause for a moment and self-reflect on these questions:

  1. Am I up to date on the latest advances in medical technology, gear, and application? Trauma medicine is ever-evolving, and even the most highly trained professionals can struggle to keep up with the latest techniques and research. Am I due for a refresher?
  2. Training aside, do I have trauma kits/gear staged in the places where I'm most likely to need them? For example, if I have a kitchen fire, I don't want to run to the opposite side of the house to get a fire extinguisher. For that reason, I should have trauma kits staged in various strategic places, including in my home, car, and on or near my person at all times. A trauma kit is different from a first aid kit that gets regular use. Stage your trauma kit for significant emergencies. Then you can ensure it has what you need when you need it. Your trauma kit shouldn't be regularly accessed, moved, or picked through.
  3. Do my loved ones, and the people I care most about have a proper amount of training as well? If you are injured, or your loved ones are injured when you are not around, their skills and training become incredibly critical.

So there is a snapshot of the average Concealed Carry dot Com customer's answers to our emergency medical trauma questionnaire. If you have stuck around to the end, I want to mention that we have put together an excellent course. It is called Emergency Trauma Response Training Course. And it is available on the Mountain Man Medical site for FREE.

Emergency Trauma Response (ETR) is a comprehensive training program for anyone interested in being better prepared to deal with massive trauma.

Building off the popular “Stop The Bleed” program, ETR goes above and beyond to ensure the student has the practical knowledge to use popular products and gear and can manage 95% of major trauma emergencies.

ACCESS THE FREE COURSE

About Jacob Paulsen

Jacob S. Paulsen is the President of ConcealedCarry.com. ConcealedCarry.com provides in-person and online firearm training for American gun owners. The Company is currently teaching in-person classes in 25+ states with a team of more than 55 instructors. Jacob is a NRA certified instructor & Range Safety Officer, USCCA certified instructor and training counselor, Utah BCI instructor, Affiliate instructor for Next Level Training, Graduate and certified instructor for The Law of Self Defense, and a Glock and Sig Sauer Certified Armorer. He resides in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with his wife and children.

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