IPE disaster course and simulation development

Abstract

<p>Within our constantly changing world, we face disasters as a common occurrence. These disasters can be natural, biological, and/or terrorist attacks. As an educational institution, it is our responsibility to teach healthcare students to be prepared to respond to these disasters, not only in the hospital, but also in the community. The authors will review the steps we took in creating the course and simulation. An interprofessional team of healthcare workers including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, and public health developed a comprehensive disaster preparedness course with the educational design team, targeted for healthcare students at our institution. This course consisted of an online disaster simulation and three modules, followed by a six-hour workshop. The three modules focused on principals of disaster management, personal preparedness, and teamwork/communication. The six-hour workshop included an orientation/planning session, basic first aid, writing an individual emergency plan, team/communication evaluation, and a robust simulation. The simulation was a direct tornado hit to the nursing school where students had to respond to the simulated patients (both mannequin and standardized patients) with the supplies typically available at the college. No medications were available. There were eighteen standardized patients, three family members, and three mannequins. Eighty-two students volunteered to participate. Seventy-nine students participated in the workshop. The participants were divided into four teams and rotated through all stations. Each team had between 16 and 20 interdisciplinary members. Both quantitative and qualitative results are currently being analyzed. Raw data means in self-confidence pre-course 3.88/5 compared to 4.37/5 after simulation.</p>