Medical student coping and performance in simulated disasters.

Objectives: Coping with the stress of real and simulated disasters is thought to be integral to the performance of emergency medicine providers. Yet, little is known about which coping strategies are employed in these scenarios and whether differential use of strategies predicts actual clinical and interpersonal performance.

Methods: Thirty-four medical students were evaluated by trained simulated patients and physician observers across 111 clinical encounters during a simulated disaster.