Using the National Incident Management System to Prepare Physicians for Rapid Responses: A Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Emergency Management
• Healthcare Systems

Background:

• Effective management of in-hospital rapid responses is crucial for patient outcomes.
• Physicians often lack formal training in incident management systems for clinical emergencies.
• The National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) provide frameworks for organized response.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of training physicians in NIMS/ICS principles for in-hospital rapid responses.
• To evaluate physicians' attitudes and understanding of NIMS/ICS after training.
• To determine the impact of NIMS/ICS training on rapid response preparedness.

Main Methods:

• An educational pilot study involving resident physicians.
• Pre- and post-surveys to assess knowledge and attitudes.
• Online training module covering NIMS/ICS principles applied to rapid responses.
• Knowledge assessment test post-training.

Main Results:

• Most residents (20/22) initially lacked NIMS/ICS understanding.
• Post-training, residents showed significant improvement in knowledge (median score 9.5/10).
• Participants reported increased comfort in resource management and establishing command (P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Training physicians in NIMS/ICS for rapid responses is feasible.
• The training positively influenced residents' attitudes and preparedness for managing emergencies.
• NIMS/ICS principles can be effectively integrated into physician training for in-hospital events.