STOP THE BLEED® Training
A STOP THE BLEED® class teaches you to recognize life-threatening bleeding and stop it with three techniques: direct pressure, wound packing, and applying a tourniquet. The class takes about an hour, most of it hands-on with an instructor. You do not need a medical background.
Step 1.Direct pressure
Use your hands to press hard on the wound.
Step 2.Wound packing
Pack gauze into a deep wound and keep pressing.
Step 3.Tourniquet
Put a tourniquet on an arm or leg that is bleeding badly.
Find a class near you
Classes are held in every state and in 172 countries. Two organizations run class finders for licensed STOP THE BLEED® classes.
Either one will get you a class taught by a licensed instructor from an approved curriculum.
Stop the Bleed Coalition
Search classes in the Training Management System (opens in a new tab)
American College of Surgeons
Classes are typically free or offered at cost. Ask the host if you are not sure.
Two approved courses, one standard
The program has contracted with two organizations to develop STOP THE BLEED® course materials. Both courses are approved by the program, teach the same three techniques, and meet the same standard. You can take either.
The Essentials of STOP THE BLEED®
Developed by the Stop the Bleed Coalition. Available in person, or as an online lecture paired with in-person hands-on practice. Offered in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Korean, Ukrainian, Hebrew, and Arabic.
STOP THE BLEED® Course
Developed by the American College of Surgeons. Available in person, with an online version for the lecture portion.
In person and online
Both courses can be started online. The hands-on portion is where the skill is actually learned: an instructor watches you pack a wound and place a tourniquet, and keeps working with you until you can do it. An online lecture on its own is a good start. The class is complete when you have practiced with your hands.
When you finish, you receive a certificate of completion from the instructor or organization that ran the class.
Who can take the class
Anyone old enough to understand the material. Students, teachers, parents, coaches, workplace teams, church groups, and anyone who wants to be ready. The techniques were designed so that soldiers without medical training could use them under pressure; they work the same way for the rest of us.
What a licensed class means
When a class carries the STOP THE BLEED® name, it is taught by a licensed instructor from a curriculum the program has approved. That is what the name guarantees. Courses sold under similar names are not held to that standard. How the program sets the standard.
Training for your organization
Schools, workplaces, houses of worship, venues, and agencies can host a class for their people or train a group of their own instructors. Many organizations hold their own STOP THE BLEED® Educational License, which gives them access to approved course materials at no cost. Learn about licensing for organizations.
Become an instructor
If you have taken a STOP THE BLEED® class and hold one of the qualifying professional credentials, you may be eligible for an Instructor License. See the credentials and how to apply.
After the class
Put a STOP THE BLEED® kit where the injury would happen: the wall by the AED, the car, the shop floor, the classroom. Take a refresher when it has been a while. Tell the people around you that you know what to do. See the kits and licensed sellers.