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The South Dakota Model: Health Care Professions Student Disaster Preparedness and Deployment Training

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 October 2017

Matt P. Owens*
Affiliation:
University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, Vermillion, South Dakota
Cheri Buffington
Affiliation:
Yankton Rural Area Health Education Center, Yankton, South Dakota
Michael P. Frost
Affiliation:
University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, Vermillion, South Dakota
Randall J. Waldner
Affiliation:
University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, Vermillion, South Dakota
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Matt Owens, MD, Community Memorial Hospital, Redfield, SD 57469 (email: [email protected])

Abstract

Objective

The Association of American Medical Colleges recommended an increase in medical education for public health emergencies, bioterrorism, and weapons of mass destruction in 2003. The University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine (USD SSOM) implemented a 1-day training event to provide disaster preparedness training and deployment organization for health professions students called Disaster Training Day (DTD).

Methods

Hospital staff and emergency medical services personnel provided the lecture portion of DTD using Core Disaster Life Support (CDLS; National Disaster Life Support Foundation) as the framework. Pre-test and post-test analyses were presented to the students. Small group activities covered leadership, anaphylaxis, mass fatality, points of dispensing deployment training, psychological first aid, triage, and personal protective equipment. Students were given the option to sign up for statewide deployment through the South Dakota Statewide Emergency Registry of Volunteers (SERV SD). DTD data and student satisfaction surveys from 2009 to 2016 were reviewed.

Results

Since 2004, DTD has provided disaster preparedness training to 2246 students across 13 health professions. Significant improvement was shown on CDLS post-test performance with a t-score of −14.24 and a resulting P value of <0.00001. Students showed high levels of satisfaction on a 5-level Likert scale with overall training, small group sessions, and perceived self-competency relating to disaster response. SERV SD registration increased in 2015, and 77.5% of the participants registered in 2016.

Conclusion

DTD at the USD SSOM provides for an effective 1-day disaster training course for health professions students. Resources from around the state were coordinated to provide training, liability coverage, and deployment organization for hundreds of students representing multiple health professions. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:735–740)

Type
Original Research
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2017 

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References

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