Hands-on training starts the first week of school for medical students at KU School of Medicine-Wichita.

As part of orientation this week for the Class of 2024, the first-year students completed basic lifesaver training July 22 with Lifesaver Learning Inc. in Wichita. The training covers basic life support for adults, children and infants, including AEDs, CPR and airway obstruction, among other topics.

"How do you know someone is choking?" Tatum Knox, emergency medical instructor with Lifesaver Learning, asked the group of about 30 new medical students. "What questions would you ask them?"

She talked about how some people have mistaken asthma for choking and advised the students to ask two specific questions: "Are you choking? Can I help you?"

"People can refuse your help up until death," Knox acknowledged, even citing a case in Wichita in which a good Samaritan was successfully sued by someone who did not want assistance.

Donning masks, the medical students practiced chest compressions for adults and also practiced compressions on dolls, learning how to respond if a baby was choking.

"In addition to being an educational requirement for all students, the lifesaver training new students complete during orientation ensures they are a certified provider of CPR in any clinical observation they participate in," said Heather van Buuren, director of the Department of Academic & Student Affairs at KU School of Medicine-Wichita. "We want them to be fully prepared and engaged for anything they might encounter."

Along with lifesaver training, the Class of 2024's orientation this week includes touring campus, hearing from medical school leaders, reviewing curriculum, embarking on a scavenger hunt in Wichita to learn more about the community and participating in a virtual white coat ceremony.