MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Justin C. McCarty, DO, MPH General Surgery Resident, PGY-4 Department of Surgery | St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: The main finding of the paper is that the assumption of the training that teaching how to apply one type of tourniquet translates to knowledge and understanding of how to apply any other tourniquet is questionable. I love the Stop the Bleed campaign and what it stands for but I believe that it is important that as it moves forward that there is continuous questioning of the educational curriculum and how it is delivered. Currently, I question whether the best interim method of teaching and empowering laypeople is to focus more on pressure and packing of wounds; a skill that is always fully translatable, doesn’t require anything other than a willing set of hands, and is incredibly effective, rather than tourniquets. A second question I have is whether existing tourniquets and the associated training are approaching the issue from the right angle since to me the device should be designed to not require training and continuous practice, but rather should be intuitive and simple to use, features lacking from all existing devices.   (more…)