Original Article

Implementing a Disaster Preparedness Curriculum for Medical Students

Authors: Edward H. Jasper, MD, Gregory K. Wanner, MS, DO, Dale Berg, MD, Katherine Berg, MD, MPH

Abstract

Objectives: Training in disaster medicine and preparedness is minimal or absent in the curricula of many medical schools in the United States. Despite a 2003 joint recommendation by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, few medical schools require disaster training for medical students. The challenges of including disaster training in an already rigorous medical school curriculum are significant. We evaluated medical students’ experiences with mandatory disaster training during a 2-year period in a medical university setting.

Methods: Disaster training has been mandatory at Thomas Jefferson University since 2002 and requires all first-year medical students to attend lectures, undergo practical skills simulation training, and participate in the hospital’s interdisciplinary disaster exercise. Medical students were encouraged to complete a survey after each component of the required training. Twenty-three survey questions focused on assessing students’ experiences and opinions of the training, including evaluation of the disaster exercise. Students provided ratings on a 5-point Likert scale (5 = strongly agree, 1 = strongly disagree).

Results: A total of 503 medical students participated in the disaster preparedness curriculum during the course of 2 years. Survey response rates were high for each portion of the training: lectures (91%), skills sessions (84%), and disaster exercise (100%). Students believed that disaster preparedness should remain part of the medical school curriculum (rating 4.58/5). The disaster lectures were considered valuable (rating 4.26/5) and practical skills sessions should continue to be part of the first-year curriculum (4.97/5). Students also believed that participation in the disaster exercise allowed them to better understand the difficulties faced in a real disaster situation (4.2/5).

Conclusions: Our mandatory disaster preparedness training course was successfully integrated into the first-year curriculum >10 years ago and has been well received by students without compromising the existing university curriculum. Integrating interdisciplinary teams and course components important to other education stakeholders may help other schools overcome obstacles to implementing disaster medicine training. Future education research should focus on developing interdisciplinary education to help disseminate disaster medicine topics across all 4 years of medical school.

This content is limited to qualifying members.

Existing members, please login first

If you have an existing account please login now to access this article or view purchase options.

Purchase only this article ($25)

Create a free account, then purchase this article to download or access it online for 24 hours.

Purchase an SMJ online subscription ($75)

Create a free account, then purchase a subscription to get complete access to all articles for a full year.

Purchase a membership plan (fees vary)

Premium members can access all articles plus recieve many more benefits. View all membership plans and benefit packages.

References

1. Kaji AH, Coates W, Fung CC. A disaster medicine curriculum for medical students. Teach Learn Med 2010;22:116-122.
 
2. Markenson D, Dimaggio C, Redlener I. Preparing health professions students for terrorism, disaster, and public health emergencies: core competencies. Acad Med 2005;80:517-26.
 
3. Subbarao I, Lyznicki JM, Hsu EB, et al. A consensus-based educational framework and competency set for the discipline of disaster medicine and public health preparedness. Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2008;2:57-68.
 
4. Association of American Medical Colleges. Training future physicians about weapons of mass destruction: report of the expert panel on bioterrorism education for medical students. https://members.aamc.org/eweb/upload/Training%20Future%20Physicians%20About%20Weapons.pdf. Published 2003. Accessed: September 17, 2016.
 
5. Smith J, Levy MJ, Hsu EB, et al. Disaster curricula in medical education: pilot survey. Prehosp Disaster Med 2012;27:492-494.
 
6. Jasper E, Berg K, Reid M, et al. Disaster preparedness: what training do our interns receive during medical school? Am J Med Qual 2013;28:407-413.
 
7. Cole LA, Wagner K, Scott S, et al. Terror medicine as part of the medical school curriculum. Front Public Health 2014;2:138.
 
8. Scott LA, Carson DS, Greenwell IB. Disaster 101: a novel approach to disaster medicine training for health professionals. J Emerg Med 2010;39:220-226.
 
9. Carney JK, Schilling LM, Frank SH, et al. Planning and incorporating public health preparedness into the medical curriculum. Am J Prev Med 2011;41(4 Suppl 3):S193-S199.
 
10. Claudius I, Kaji A, Santillanes G, et al. Comparison of computerized patients versus live moulaged actors for a mass-casualty drill. Prehosp Disaster Med 2015;30:438-442.
 
11. Scott LA, Maddux PT, Schnellmann J, et al. High-fidelity multiactor emergency preparedness training for patient care providers. Am J Disaster Med 2012;7:175-188.
 
12. Parrish AR, Oliver S, Jenkins D, et al. A short medical school course on responding to bioterrorism and other disasters. Acad Med 2005;80:820-823.
 
13. Kaiser HE, Barnett DJ, Hsu EB, et al. Perspectives of future physicians on disaster medicine and public health preparedness: challenges of building a capable and sustainable auxiliary medical workforce. Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2009;3:210-216.
 
14. Barrimah I, Adam I, Al-Mohaimeed A. Disaster medicine education for medical students: is it a real need? Med Teach 2016;38(Suppl 1):S60-S65.
 
15. Patel VM, Dahl-Grove D. Disaster preparedness medical school elective: bridging the gap between volunteer eagerness and readiness. Pediatr Emerg Care 2016 Jul; 23.
16. Mortelmans LJ, Bouman SJ, Gaakeer MI, et al. Dutch senior medical students and disaster medicine: a national survey. Int J Emerg Med 2015;8:77.
 
17. Pons PT, Jerome J, McMullen J, et al. The Hartford Consensus on Active Shooters: implementing the continuum of prehospital trauma response. J Emerg Med 2015;49:878-885.
 
18. Correction: standard EC.4.20, element of performance 4. Jt Comm Perspect 2007;27:9.
 
19. Kumar A, Weibley E. Disaster management and physician preparedness. South Med J 2013;106:17-20.
 
20. Khithani A, Barrett A, Bholat O, et al. Lessons in collaboration: New York surgeons look back at Superstorm Sandy. Bull Am Coll Surg 2014;99:10-17.
 
21. Reyes H. Students' response to disaster: a lesson for health care professional schools. Ann Intern Med 2010;153:658-660.
 
22. Sabri AA, Qayyum MA. Why medical students should be trained in disaster management: our experience of the Kashmir earthquake. PLoS Med 2006;3:e382.
 
23. Hendrickson RG. Physician willingness to respond to disasters: what can we learn? J Grad Med Educ 2013;5:524-525.