Medical Student Participation in a Disaster Seminar and Drill: Brief Description of Activity and Report of Student Experiences

BACKGROUND: Although it is a Joint Commission requirement for hospitals to maintain an up-to-date disaster plan and to implement drills, disaster training is not routinely incorporated into undergraduate medical education. PURPOSES: The objectives are to provide medical students with an introduction to disaster medicine, involving didactics and an experiential component where students participated in a disaster drill, and to evaluate the seminar's effectiveness through scored evaluations and a focus group discussion. METHODS: A descriptive and qualitative analysis of a medical student disaster training course is presented. RESULTS: The mean score for the four statements pertaining to the didactics was 4.3/5. Two themes from the focus group discussions emerged: (a) changes in self-perceived attitude toward disaster medicine and (b) changes in student's ability to apply this knowledge in a simulated setting. CONCLUSIONS: After the seminar, students appreciated the complexity of the field and the importance of incorporating disaster training into the general medical school curriculum.