Are general surgeons behind the curve when it comes to disaster preparedness training? A survey of general surgery and emergency medicine trainees in the United States by the Eastern Association for the Surgery for Trauma Committee on Disaster Preparedness.

Purpose: We think that general surgeons are underprepared to respond to mass casualty disasters. Preparedness education is required in emergency medicine (EM) residencies, yet such requirements are not mandated for general surgery (GS) training programs. We hypothesize that EM residents receive more training, consider themselves better prepared, and are more comfortable responding to disaster events than are GS residents.