Implementation of disaster medicine education in German medical schools - a nationwide survey.

Floods, earthquakes and terror attacks in recent years emphasize the importance of disaster preparedness for the medical community. To best prepare doctors for providing optimal care in disaster situations, specific education and training should start at the medical school level. This study containes an online survey among German medical schools to evaluate the status quo of teaching disaster medicine and to reveal potential obstacles.

The German emergency and disaster medicine and management system-history and present.

As well for optimized emergency management in individual cases as for optimized mass medicine in disaster management, the principle of the medical doctors approaching the patient directly and timely, even close to the site of the incident, is a long-standing marker for quality of care and patient survival in Germany. Professional rescue and emergency forces, including medical services, are the "Golden Standard" of emergency management systems. Regulative laws, proper organization of resources, equipment, training and adequate delivery of medical measures are key factors in systematic approaches to manage emergencies and disasters alike and thus save lives.

Medical student disaster medicine education: the development of an educational resource.

Background: Disaster medicine education is an enormous challenge, but indispensable for disaster preparedness.

Aims: We aimed to develop and implement a disaster medicine curriculum for medical student education that can serve as a peer-reviewed, structured educational guide and resource. Additionally, the process of designing, approving and implementing such a curriculum is presented.

European survey on decontamination in mass casualty incidents.

Objective: The goal of this study is to assess the European status in the case of mass casualties regarding legislation, responsibilities of ministries and organizations, education and training, material and equipment, and bottlenecks.

Design: A questionnaire answered by 22 of 27 European Union member states and Croatia, Norway, and Switzerland. Results and recommendations of a European expert's workshop on decontamination of victims of mass casualties.