Introduction: The number of mass casualty incidents (MCIs) is increasing. While many healthcare systems have not experienced an MCI, the need for preparedness is ever present. The unique challenges of MCI preparedness require the use of simulation, which has been found to be an effective model for training in medical environments.

Objective: To determine common discussion points when a multidisciplinary team designed and implemented in situ MCI simulation drills to enhance our emergency preparedness plan.

Design: This was a retrospective qualitative evaluation of the multidisciplinary mass casualty drill design team's weekly meeting minutes documents. These documents provided insight into the evolution of a mass casualty drill design team and the advancement of our emergency response plan.

Results: Continuous discussions surrounding resource restraints helped to inform the emergence of the three themes, which were "Staff," "Space," and "Stuff." These three themes were further broken down into different subthemes, but there was a continued focus on resource scarcity.

Conclusions: Our results indicate the use of an MCI drill design team and in situ simulations assisted in better understanding of how hospital departments struggled with resource scarcity and provided opportunities to strengthen the emergency preparedness response plan. Incorporating a multidisciplinary mass casualty drill design team helped to ensure different perspectives and department needs were acknowledged and addressed through the in situ simulation trainings.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.5055/jem.0542DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

mass casualty
20
drill design
20
casualty drill
16
design team
16
evolution mass
8
mci preparedness
8
emergency preparedness
8
multidisciplinary mass
8
three themes
8
casualty
5

Similar Publications

Background: The evolving nature of irregular warfare and the increasingly frequent violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law pose unique challenges for humanitarian actors delivering trauma care in conflict settings.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science and a web search (on Google, Google scholar and Bing) to analyze and review past humanitarian interventions offering trauma care in conflict settings. Relevant records were identified from scientific and grey literature.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

How Pediatric Readiness can Impact Pediatric Trauma From Every Day to Mass Events.

J Pediatr Surg

January 2025

Mary Bridge Children's, Department of Pediatric Surgery and Pediatric Trauma, Tacoma, WA, USA.

Disaster events such as weather events and mass casualty events are increasing in frequency and severity. Caring for children during a surge requires a regional approach given limited pediatric inpatient capacity and expertise. During the 2024 American Academy of Pediatrics National Convention and Exhibition, the Section on Surgery and Council on Children and Disasters (COCD) partnered to present a joint symposium emphasizing importance of pediatric readiness and disaster preparedness and role of pediatric trauma surgeons in disaster preparedness and response in all communities.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Thoracostomies, and subsequent placements of chest tubes (CTs), are a standard procedure in several domains of medicine. In emergency medicine, thoracostomies are indicated to release a relevant hemothorax or pneumothorax, particularly a life-threatening tension pneumothorax. In many cases, an initial finger-assisted thoracostomy is followed by placement of a CT to ensure continuous decompression of blood and air.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Teaching triage in disaster medicine - same subject, but different approach.

Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med

January 2025

Department of Surgery, Institute for Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Background: Disaster management is an inter-, intra-, and cross-disciplinary task in which different specialties partake. Triage is a crucial part of disaster education. A synchronized approach and mutual understanding of triaging and agreement on priorities are essential for saving lives.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hospital Boarding Creates Critical Shortcomings in Disaster Preparedness.

Health Secur

January 2025

Michael Redlener, MD, FAEMS, is Medical Director, Mount Sinai West Department of Emergency Medicine; Co-Director, Center for Healthcare Readiness; and an Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine; all at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY.

Hospital patient boarding in emergency departments has reached unprecedented crisis levels over the past 4 years. Boarding and crowding has been demonstrated by prior literature to have adverse effects on patient care as well as increased associated costs. Importantly, the increase in hospital patient boarding has created critical shortcomings in disaster preparedness by limiting the capacity of emergency departments to respond to mass casualty incidents due to space and staffing constraints.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!