Assessment of Emergency Preparedness Modules in Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences

Objective. To determine the impact of emergency preparedness simulations in mass triage and mass dispensing on student pharmacist performance and perceived competency when assuming pharmacist roles in disaster situations. Design. Second-year student pharmacists (144) completed two 3-hour simulations focusing on mass triage and mass dispensing. The mass triage simulation consisted of virtual and live victims to be triaged and assigned a transport order. In the mass dispensing simulation, students assumed patient and pharmacist roles in a point-of-dispensing exercise for influenza. Assessment. For the mass triage simulation, students were challenged most by determining which patients could wait for emergency care but did well assessing those who required immediate or minimal care (83% and 64% correct, respectively). During the mass dispensing simulation, students performed screening and dispensing functions with accuracy rates of 88% and 90%, respectively. Conclusion. Student pharmacists performed well in screening and dispensing functions, but struggled with mass casualty triage during emergency preparedness simulations.