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. 2022 Feb 1;38(2):e635-e638.
doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000002318.

Before Disaster Strikes: A Pilot Intervention to Improve Pediatric Trainees' Knowledge of Disaster Medicine

Andrew Donahue  1 , Seth Brown  1 , Suhkvir Singh  1 , Nikita Shokur  1 , J Bracken Burns Jr  2 , Kathryn L Duvall  1 , Dawn S Tuell  1
Affiliations

Before Disaster Strikes: A Pilot Intervention to Improve Pediatric Trainees' Knowledge of Disaster Medicine

Andrew Donahue et al. Pediatr Emerg Care. .

Abstract

Objective: Because training in pediatric disaster medicine (PDM) is neither required nor standardized for pediatric residents, we designed and integrated a PDM course into the curriculum of a pediatric residency program and assessed if participation increased participants' knowledge of managing disaster victims.

Methods: We adapted and incorporated a previously studied PDM course into a small-sized pediatric residency program. The curriculum consisted of didactic lectures and experiential learning via simulation with structured debriefing. With IRB approval, the authors conducted a longitudinal series of pretests and posttests to assess knowledge and perceptions.

Results: Sixteen eligible residents completed the intervention. Before the course, none of the residents reported experience treating disaster victims. Pairwise comparison of scores revealed a 35% improvement in scores immediately after completing the course (95% confidence interval, 22.73%-47.26%; P < 0.001) and a 23.73% improvement 2 months later (95% confidence interval, 7.12%-40.34%; P < 0.01).

Conclusions: Residents who completed this course increased their knowledge of PDM with moderate retention of knowledge gained. There was a significant increase in perceived ability to manage patients in a disaster situation after this educational intervention and the residents' confidence was preserved 2 months later. This PDM course may be used in future formulation of a standardized curriculum.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

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