The design and development of disaster medical education for medical students in curriculum Medi-cal student disaster medicine education

Abstract

We aim to develop and implement a disaster medicine curriculum for medical student education, so the six-step approach to curriculum development for medical education has been used as a formal process instrument. Recognized experts in disaster health care have provided input using disaster-related physician training programs, scientific evidence if available, proposals for education by international disaster medicine organizations and their expertise as the basis for content development. The final course consists of 14 modules composed of 2-h units. The concepts of disaster medicine, including response, med-ical assistance, law, command, coordination, communication, and mass casualty management, are intro-duced. Hospital preparedness plans and experiences from worldwide disaster assistance are reviewed. Life-saving emergency and limited individual treatment under disaster conditions are discussed. Specifics of initial management of explosive, war-related, radiological/nuclear, chemical, and biological incidents empha-sizing infectious diseases and terrorist attacks are presented. An evacuation exercise is completed, and a mass casualty triage is simulated in collaboration with local disaster response agencies. Decontamination procedures are demonstrated at the local fire department, and personal decontamination practices are exer-cised. Mannequin resuscitation is practiced while personal protective equipment is utilized. An interactive review of professional ethics, stress disorders, psychosocial interventions, and quality improvement efforts complete the training. The curriculum offers medical disaster education in a reasonable time frame, interdis-ciplinary format, multi-experiential course and flexible structure. It can serve as a template for basic medi-cal student disaster edu-cation. Key words: Disasters; Medical education; Curriculum; Medical students