Methods of instruction of the incident command system and related topics at US veterinary schools

The Incident Command System (ICS) is an adaptable construct designed to streamline response efforts to a disaster or other incident. We aimed to examine the methods used to teach the ICS at US veterinary schools and to explore alternative and novel methods for instruction of this material.

A total of 29 US accredited veterinary schools (as of February 2012) were surveyed, and 18 of the 29 schools responded.

The ICS and related topics were taught by both classroom methods and online instruction by most of the surveyed schools. Several of the schools used readily available Federal Emergency Management Agency and US Department of Agriculture resources to aid in instruction. Most schools used one course to teach the ICS, and some schools also used unique methods such as field exercises, drills, side-by-side training with disaster response teams, elective courses, extracurricular clubs, and externships to reinforce the ICS and related topics. Some of the surveyed institutions also utilized fourth-year clinical rotations and field deployments during actual disasters as a component of their ICS and emergency response curriculum.

The ICS is being taught at some form at a significant number of US veterinary schools. Additional research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of the teaching methods of the ICS in US veterinary schools.