When seconds matter, knowing how to control life-threatening bleeding can mean the difference between life and death. Wyoming WWAMI students Aedian O’Connor from Laramie and Jack Syring from Sheridan, both in their second year of medical school, are equipping communities across Wyoming—and even abroad— with those skills through Stop the Bleed (STB), a national training program developed by the American College of Surgeons to teach the public how to respond to bleeding emergencies.
O’Connor and Syring lead monthly classes that combine instruction, hands-on practice and skill demonstrations to teach participants how to call 911, identify severe bleeding, apply direct pressure, pack wounds and use tourniquets. Fellow Wyoming WWAMI students Noah Gustafson and Jill Mayer support the program by handling administrative tasks and assisting with teaching. The courses are free and open to anyone—from outdoor enthusiasts and students to healthcare providers and construction workers—and have also been requested by Volunteer Fire Departments, Marksman organizations, and Search and Rescue teams.
The program recently reached an international audience when O’Connor and Syring brought the Stop the Bleed curriculum to medical students at Cardiff University in Wales and to a public event attended by over 900 people. “The impact these sessions had on the public was remarkable, especially for the many young people who can now share these lifesaving skills with others or potentially use them in the future,” O’Connor says.
This year, their curriculum has expanded to include Naloxone education in partnership with the Wyoming Institute of Population Health. “Jack and I both felt that incorporating Naloxone training into an already very accessible curriculum like STB could be an opportunity to destigmatize the topic of opioid usage and empower the public to intervene in the event of an overdose to save someone’s life,” notes O’Connor.
Teaching the course has been deeply rewarding for both leads. O’Connor explains, “For me, the most meaningful part of teaching STB has been watching students overcome their initial hesitancy to perform the hemorrhage-control skills. As they practice and ask questions, I can see the moment when they gain confidence that they could provide life-saving bleeding control if needed in an emergency after attending our classes.”
Syring adds, “It’s been incredibly rewarding to watch my classmates grow into confident, capable educators through the Stop the Bleed program. Teaching is a skill that often flies under the radar in medical training, yet it’s absolutely essential. As physicians, we aren’t just responsible for treating patients; we also have a duty to pass on knowledge.”
Even after a busy year, both O’Connor and Syring hope to continue reaching more people: “While we do our best to advertise and get the word out about our classes, we always wish more people knew about Stop The Bleed. The skills we teach are especially important in rural areas and outdoor recreational settings where formal medical care can take hours to reach a patient. We are always trying to get more people involved!”