Abstract
Workplace violence and unintentional injury in settings of higher education have increased in frequency in recent years. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health developed a set of practices, programs, and policies collectively known as Total Worker Health®, that includes emphasis on promoting workplace safety and injury prevention. Nurses in academic roles present a unique population in that they have foundational healthcare education but may limited in or far removed from prior emergency response training. Further, little research exists on implementation and outcomes of workplace safety programs in settings of higher education. We developed and implemented an internal, voluntary “Lifesaver” training offered to all faculty and staff in a large school of nursing affiliated with an academic medical center. Training combined instruction on hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Stop the Bleed®, general building safety (such as location of emergency exits, automated external defibrillators, panic buttons), and evacuation procedures. Two 1-hour sessions (AM and PM) were offered on the same day to accommodate a variety of participant schedules. After the training, participants completed evaluations to assess training impact using 13 Likert-scale questions (1= “Strongly disagree”; 5= “Strongly agree”) on prior emergency response training, and knowledge of and preparedness for emergency response in the workplace setting. Participants were also given the opportunity to provide written feedback on their experience and suggestions for additional training. Those who participated received a “Lifesaver” decal to post on their office door for easy recognition of where to find help when needed, as well as a certificate of completion for Stop the Bleed®. Means and standard deviation were used to summarize findings, and paired t-tests were used to compare changes in pre- and post-training scores. A total of 33 faculty and staff participated across the two training sessions, 10 of whom were registered nurses. After completing “Lifesaver” training, participants reported an increase in both their knowledge (3.5 ± 0.2 vs 4.8 ± 0.1, p< 0.0001) and feelings of preparedness (3.5 ± 0.2 vs 4.6 ± 0.1, p< 0.0001) for responding to workplace emergencies. Participants suggested future trainings include basic recognition of stroke symptoms and bystander management of seizures for those without medical training. Additional study is needed to determine emergency preparedness needs among faculty and staff in settings of higher education, including experienced nurses in academic roles.
Notes
Presenter notes available in attached slide deck.
References:
Schill, A. L., & Chosewood, L. C. (2013). The NIOSH Total Worker Health program: an overview. J Occup Environ Med, 55(12 Suppl), S8-11. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000037
Chari, R., Chang, C. C., Sauter, S. L., Petrun Sayers, E. L., Cerully, J. L., Schulte, P., Schill, A. L., & Uscher-Pines, L. (2018). Expanding the Paradigm of Occupational Safety and Health: A New Framework for Worker Well-Being. J Occup Environ Med, 60(7), 589-593. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001330
Day, A. (2022). ENA Position Statement: Hemorrhage Control. J Emerg Nurs, 48(4), 460-464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2022.03.005
Ahmad, F. B., Cisewski, J. A., & Anderson, R. N. (2022). Provisional Mortality Data - United States, 2021. Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report, 71(17), 597-600. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7117e1
Haskins, B., Smith, K., Cameron, P., Bernard, S., Nehme, Z., Murphy-Smith, J., Metcalf, M., Moussa, R., Harvey, D., Turnbull, L., & Dyson, K. (2020). The impact of bystander relation and medical training on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes. Resuscitation, 150, 72-79. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2020.02.036
Zwislewski, A., Nanassy, A. D., Meyer, L. K., Scantling, D., Jankowski, M. A., Blinstrub, G., & Grewal, H. (2019). Practice makes perfect: The impact of Stop the Bleed training on hemorrhage control knowledge, wound packing, and tourniquet application in the workplace. Injury, 50(4), 864-868. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.injury.2019.03.025
Sigma Membership
Nu at-Large
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Emergencies, Occupational Safety, Academic Settings, Life-Saving Skills Training
Recommended Citation
Jones, Allison R.; Claus, Nanci A.; Hammond, Stephanie; Heaton, Karen L.; Powers, Summer Langston; and Watts, Penni I., "“Lifesaver” Training: Promoting Safety and Emergency Preparedness in a Higher Education Workplace" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 63.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2024/presentations_2024/63
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2024
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-02-19
“Lifesaver” Training: Promoting Safety and Emergency Preparedness in a Higher Education Workplace
Washington, DC, USA
Workplace violence and unintentional injury in settings of higher education have increased in frequency in recent years. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health developed a set of practices, programs, and policies collectively known as Total Worker Health®, that includes emphasis on promoting workplace safety and injury prevention. Nurses in academic roles present a unique population in that they have foundational healthcare education but may limited in or far removed from prior emergency response training. Further, little research exists on implementation and outcomes of workplace safety programs in settings of higher education. We developed and implemented an internal, voluntary “Lifesaver” training offered to all faculty and staff in a large school of nursing affiliated with an academic medical center. Training combined instruction on hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Stop the Bleed®, general building safety (such as location of emergency exits, automated external defibrillators, panic buttons), and evacuation procedures. Two 1-hour sessions (AM and PM) were offered on the same day to accommodate a variety of participant schedules. After the training, participants completed evaluations to assess training impact using 13 Likert-scale questions (1= “Strongly disagree”; 5= “Strongly agree”) on prior emergency response training, and knowledge of and preparedness for emergency response in the workplace setting. Participants were also given the opportunity to provide written feedback on their experience and suggestions for additional training. Those who participated received a “Lifesaver” decal to post on their office door for easy recognition of where to find help when needed, as well as a certificate of completion for Stop the Bleed®. Means and standard deviation were used to summarize findings, and paired t-tests were used to compare changes in pre- and post-training scores. A total of 33 faculty and staff participated across the two training sessions, 10 of whom were registered nurses. After completing “Lifesaver” training, participants reported an increase in both their knowledge (3.5 ± 0.2 vs 4.8 ± 0.1, p< 0.0001) and feelings of preparedness (3.5 ± 0.2 vs 4.6 ± 0.1, p< 0.0001) for responding to workplace emergencies. Participants suggested future trainings include basic recognition of stroke symptoms and bystander management of seizures for those without medical training. Additional study is needed to determine emergency preparedness needs among faculty and staff in settings of higher education, including experienced nurses in academic roles.
Description
We describe the implementation and evaluation of a "Lifesaver" emergency response training offered to faculty and staff in a higher education setting. Training combined instruction on hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Stop the Bleed®, general building safety (such as location of emergency exits, automated external defibrillators, panic buttons), and evacuation procedures.