A comprehensive disaster training program to improve emergency physicians' preparedness: a 1-year pilot study

The main objective of this pilot study was to measure the effectiveness of a 1-year comprehensive training program on the long-term cognitive competence in disaster preparedness among attending emergency physicians (EPs).

Ten attending EPs participated in a year-long training program in disaster preparedness and management. A baseline pretraining test and self-evaluation questionnaire were administered to the participants. Post-training written test and self-evaluation questionnaire were repeated at 12 months after the completion of the program.

The study took place at an urban tertiary care medical center from July 2007 to June 2008.

The training program was divided into three main categories: didactic core topics, formally recognized courses, and a practicum (drill).

Pretraining and posttraining test scores in addition to pretraining and posttraining self-assessments were compared for disaster preparedness in various areas.

There was a statistically significant increase in the overall post-test versus pretest scores on the written examination for the entire group (44.4 vs. 29.8, p < 0.005). In addition, statistically significant increases in each area of disaster preparedness were noted for the self-assessments (2.7 +/- 0.82 vs. 3.9 +/- 0.56, p = 0.01), where 1 means not prepared at all and 5 means extremely well prepared.

Disaster preparedness is an essential area of clinical competence for EPs. Participation in a yearlong pilot training program demonstrated a statistically significant increase in cognitive competence among a pilot sample of EPs. More research is needed to validate the content of the training program and its instruments of evaluation.