Teaching Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS): A nationwide retrospective analysis of 8202 lessons taught in Germany

The German ATLS course evaluations indicated steady improvement over the 5-year study. The level of experience of course coordinators, directors, and instructors influenced this finding. Teaching quality improved most within the first 100 lessons taught, and then reached a steady state. Skill stations received better evaluations than lectures, and local courses were less satisfactory than national course formats.