Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-fwgfc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-10T23:23:54.987Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Preparing for the Surge: A Half-Day Emergency Preparedness Training Course for the “Second Front”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2017

Lancer A. Scott ,
Layne A. Madden ,
Amy E. Wahlquist  and
Daniel W. Fisher
Lancer A. Scott*
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, and Chief of Emergency Medicine at Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina
Layne A. Madden
Affiliation:
Emergency Medicine Resident Physician, Emory University College of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
Amy E. Wahlquist
Affiliation:
Research Instructor, Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
Daniel W. Fisher
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Lancer Scott, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, 169 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC 29464 (e-mail: scottlan@musc.edu).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Purpose

Clinical disaster medicine requires providers working collaboratively to care for multiple patients, yet many clinicians lack competency-based training. A 5-hour emergency preparedness training (EPT) curriculum was created using didactics, small group discussion, and scenario-based learning. The goal was to evaluate the effect of a short course on improving clinical-provider knowledge, confidence and skill.

Methods

Participants were enrolled in a medical university between 2011 and 2014. The course consisted of didactic lectures, small group exercises, and live mass-casualty training scenarios. Core competencies and performance objectives were developed by a task force and assessed via facilitator observation, pre- and posttesting, and a course evaluation.

Results

A total of 708 participants were trained, including 49.9% physicians, 31.9% medical students, 7.2% nurses, and 11% allied health personnel. The average percentage of correct answers increased from 39% to 60% (P<0.01). Following didactics, trainees met 73% and 96% of small group performance objectives. Trainees also met 68.5% and 61.1% of the mass-casualty performance objectives. Average trainee self-assessment of disaster-preparedness skill improved from 36 to 73 points out of 100.

Conclusion

A brief, intensive EPT course can improve the disaster knowledge and comfort level of a diverse group of clinical providers as well as foster disaster-performance skills. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:121–126)

Keywords

disastersemergency preparednessemergency managementdisaster medicinemedical education
Type
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , February 2018 , pp. 121 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. America’s Emergency Care Environment, A State-by-State Report Card - 2014. American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), Dallas, Texas; 2014.Google Scholar
2. AAMC. Training Future Physicians About Weapons of Mass Destruction: Report of the Expert Panel on Bioterrorism Education for Medical Students, Washington, DC; 2003.Google Scholar
3. Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System: Board on Health Care Services, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. The Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System, Washington, DC; 2006.Google Scholar
4. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. The New Emergency Management Standards, Washington, DC; 2008.Google Scholar
5. Subbarao, I, Lyznicki, J, 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 Preparedness. 2008;2(1):57-68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6. Williams, J, Nocera, M, Casteel, C. The effectiveness of disaster training for health care workers: a systematic review. Ann Emerg Med. 2008;52(3):211-222.Google Scholar
7. Berger, E. Charity hospital and disaster preparedness. Ann Emerg Med. 2006;47(1):53-56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8. Blanchard, G, Dosa, D. A comparison of the nursing home evacuation experience between Hurricanes Katrina (2005) and Gustav (2008). J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2009;10(9):639-643.Google Scholar
9. Tokuda, Y, Kikuchi, M, Takahashi, O, Stein, GH. Prehospital management of sarin nerve gas terrorism in urban settings: 10 years of progress after the Tokyo subway sarin attack. Resuscitation. 2006;68(2):193-202.Google Scholar
10. Hirsch, M, Carli, P, Nizard, R, et al. The medical response to multisite terrorist attacks in Paris. Lancet. 2015;386(10012):2535-2538.Google Scholar
11. Gates, JD, Arabian, S, Biddinger, P, et al. The initial response to the Boston marathon bombing: lessons learned to prepare for the next disaster. Ann Surg. 2014;260(6):960-966.Google Scholar
12. Prince, M. Does active learning work? A reiew of the research. J Eng Educ. 2004;93(3):223-231.Google Scholar
13. Hmelo, CE. Cognitive consequences of problem-based learning for the early development of medical expertise. Teach Learning Med. 2009;10(2):92-100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14. Norman, GR, Schmidt, HG. Effectiveness of problem-based learning curricula: theory, practice and paper darts. Med Educ. 2000;34(9):721-728.Google Scholar
15. Vernon, DT, Blake, RL. Does problem-based learning work? A meta-analysis of evaluative research. Acad Med. 1993;68(7):550-563.Google Scholar
16. Scott, LA, Smith, C, Jones, EM, Manaker, LW, Seymore, AC, Fulkerson, J. Regional approach to competency-based patient care provider disaster training: the Center for Health Professional Training and Emergency Response. South Med J. 2013;106(1):43-48.Google Scholar
17. Scott, LA, Maddux, PT, Schnellmann, J, Hayes, L, Tolley, J, Wahlquist, AE. High-fidelity multiactor emergency preparedness training for patient care providers. Am J Disaster Med. 2012;7(3):175-188.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18. Jones, J, Staub, J, Seymore, A, Scott, LA. Securing the second front: achieving first receiver safety and security through competency-based tools. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(6):643-647.Google Scholar