Interventions to improve the psychological well-being of healthcare workers in disasters, pandemics, and mass casualty events.

Objectives: This information paper will describe the current research and recommendations for improving healthcare worker's (HCW) mental health. Individual and organizational goals will be outlined with items broken up into the time frames of predisaster, during a disaster, and post-disaster.

Methods: A team of subject matter experts reviewed the current literature utilizing a search of PubMed, Google Scholar, relevant article reference lists, and subject matter interviews.

Train-the-trainer: Pilot trial for ebola virus disease simulation training.

Background: Highly infectious but rare diseases require rapid dissemination of safety critical skills to health-care workers (HCWs). Simulation is an effective method of education; however, it requires competent instructors. We evaluated the efficacy of an internet-delivered train-the-trainer course to prepare HCWs to care for patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD).

Operational Communications: Adapting a Hospital Daily Check-In (DCI) for Expanded Use During Emergency Events.

Low-frequency, high-acuity emergency events can and do occur within health care settings. Having a strong sense of daily situational and operational awareness is the first step in responding to any emergency event. To maintain high reliability, hospital leaders and staff must understand the full impact to the organization as the emergency event evolves.

Learning to Beat the Shock Clock: A Low-Fidelity Simulation Board Game for Pediatric and Emergency Medicine Residents.

Introduction: Resident physicians may have difficulty with identifying and managing pediatric septic shock due to limited patient encounters. Simulation-based interventions can enhance competency. We developed a low-fidelity tabletop simulation game to teach pediatric septic shock and compared residents' knowledge of and comfort with recognition and management of septic shock.

A Pilot Trial of Online Simulation Training for Ebola Response Education.

This article describes a pilot trial of an internet-distributable online software package that provides course materials and built-in evaluation tools to train healthcare workers in high-risk infectious disease response. It includes (1) an online self-study component, (2) a "hands-on" simulation workshop, and (3) a data-driven performance assessment toolset to support debriefing and course reporting. This study describes a pilot trial of the software package using a course designed to provide education in Ebola response to prepare healthcare workers to safely function as a measurable, high-reliability team in an Ebola simulated environment.

Hospital incident command: First responders or receiving centers?

Objectives: (1) Propose a conceptual model of an alternative hospital incident management system (HIMS) that integrates concepts used by emergency operations centers (EOCs). (2) Compare HIMS to the standard hospital incident command system (HICS) model.

Design: A quasi-experimental study was performed.

Checklist use in evaluating pediatric disaster training.

Objective: Disaster preparedness training has a small but growing part in medical education. Various strategies have been used to simulate disaster scenarios to safely provide such training. However, a modality to compare their effectiveness is lacking.

On Shaky Ground: Learner Response and Confidence After Tabletop Earthquake Simulation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate residents' confidence and attitudes related to management of earthquake victims during a tabletop simulation and 6 months after the intervention.

Methods: Pediatric residents from 4 training programs were recruited via e-mail. The tabletop simulation involved 3 pediatric patients (crush injury, head injury, and a nonverbal patient with minor injuries).

Do children with high body mass indices have a higher incidence of emesis when undergoing ketamine sedation?

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine if overweight children are more likely than normal-weight children to require ondansetron when undergoing ketamine sedation in a pediatric emergency department.

Methods: Patients between the ages of 2 and 18 years with an American Society of Anesthesiologists classification of I or II who underwent intravenous procedural sedation with ketamine with or without midazolam for uncomplicated forearm fracture reduction in an urban pediatric emergency department during the year 2007 were included. A review of sedation records was conducted for each visit.

Impact of disaster drills on caregiver perception and satisfaction in the pediatric emergency department.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess caregiver perception and satisfaction of a regional disaster drill in a pediatric emergency department (ED).

Methods: Caregivers of children receiving care during a 2-hour disaster drill were given a survey regarding perceived importance of the drill, waiting time to see a physician, service timeliness, impact on comfort, and overall recommendation of the ED. As a control, the survey was also given to caregivers a week before and after the drill.

Disaster preparedness education and a Midwest Regional Poison Center.

Objective: To assess knowledge and comfort related to disaster preparedness and response gained and retained from a disaster medicine workshop given to Certified Specialists in Poison Information (CSPI).

Design: A pilot study with a pre-post intervention design.

Setting: A Midwest Regional Poison Center.