Effective retention of primary survey skills by medical students after participation in an expanded Trauma Evaluation and Management course

Background The Trauma Evaluation and Management (TEAM) module orients medical students to the initial assessment of an injured patient. At the Medical College of Wisconsin, a course based on expanded TEAM (eTEAM) was developed for junior medical students. This study determined whether eTEAM improved the ability to perform and retain primary survey skills. Methods Objective Structured Clinical Examination methodology was used to compare 2 groups of senior medical students 1 year after receiving either a 2-hour lecture or eTEAM. Results Students receiving eTEAM performed the primary survey much better than those receiving lecture alone. The overall Objective Structured Clinical Examination scores did not differ between groups. Conclusions Medical students participating in eTEAM retained the ability to perform a primary survey in proper sequence 1 year later better than students receiving the information in lecture format only.