Skill Improvement During Emergency Response to Terrorism Training

Abstract

Objectives. To assess the individual andteam skills acquired from an interactive training program to prepare emergency personnel to respond to terrorist acts. Methods. We developed a 16-hour, two-day, multimedia- andsimulation-enhanced course that places learners in realistic situations using the equipment required to respond to various chemical, biologic, radiologic, andexplosive acts of terrorism. Small-group sessions anddrills were conducted. Errors in skill performance were corrected immediately, andthen skills were repeated to achieve mastery. Participants included emergency medical technicians, paramedics, nurses, andphysicians. Team performance was assessed over four successive scenarios using a 100-mm visual analog scale. Individual learner skill acquisition was assessed with precourse andpostcourse evaluation of selected skills in a randomized sampling of consenting learners. Results. Nearly all teams achieved mastery of the required skills by the second assessment rotation. Individual learners demonstrated significant gains in the ability to emergently don personal protective equipment andadminister a nerve agent antidote kit. Conclusions. An interactive, simulation-enhanced curriculum of terrorism response training for emergency responders can produce significant, quantifiable individual andteam skill gain. Future studies should further address performance benchmarks for these newly acquired skills.

Key words:

• disaster
• terrorism
• EMS
• simulation
• clinical skills
• education