Preparing for the Surge: A Half-Day Emergency Preparedness Training Course for the "Second Front".

UNLABELLED

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).