Italian medical students and disaster medicine: Awareness and formative needs

Authors

  • Luca Ragazzoni, MD
  • Pier Luigi Ingrassia, MD, PhD
  • Gianluca Gugliotta, MD
  • Marco Tengattini, MD
  • Jeffrey Michael Franc, MD, FCFP.EM
  • Francesco Della Corte, MD

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2013.0119

Keywords:

academic curriculum, disaster medicine, medical education, medical students

Abstract

Objective: Over the last century, the number of disasters has increased. Many governments and scientific institutions agree that disaster medicine education should be included in the standard medical curriculum. Italian medical students’ perceptions of mass casualty incidents and disasters and whether—and if so to what extent—such topics are part of their academic program were investigated.
Design, setting, and participants: A Web-based survey was disseminated to all students registered with the national medical students’ association (Segretariato Italiano Studenti Medicina), a member of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations. The survey consisted of 14 questions divided into four sections.
Results: Six hundred thirty-nine medical students completed the survey; 38.7 percent had never heard about disaster medicine; 90.9 percent had never attended elective academic courses on disaster medicine; 87.6 percent had never attended nonacademic courses on disaster medicine; 91.4 percent would welcome the introduction of a course on disaster medicine in their core curriculum; and 94.1 percent considered a knowledge of disaster medicine important for their future career.
Conclusions: Most of the students surveyed had never attended courses on disaster medicine during their medical school program. However, respondents would like to increase their knowledge in this area and would welcome the introduction of specific courses into the standard medical curriculum.

Author Biographies

Luca Ragazzoni, MD

PhD Student, CRIMEDIM - Center for Research and Education in Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Department of Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “A. Avogadro,” 28100 Novara, Italy.

Pier Luigi Ingrassia, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor in Anesthesia, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, CRIMEDIM - Center for Research and Education in Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Department of Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “A. Avogadro,” 28100 Novara, Italy.

Gianluca Gugliotta, MD

CRIMEDIM - Center for Research and Education in Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Department of Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “A. Avogadro,” 28100 Novara, Italy.

Marco Tengattini, MD

CRIMEDIM - Center for Research and Education in Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Department of Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “A. Avogadro,” 28100 Novara, Italy.

Jeffrey Michael Franc, MD, FCFP.EM

Associate Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Alberta, University of Alberta Hospital, Alberta T6G 2B7, Canada.

Francesco Della Corte, MD

Director, Full Professor in Anesthesia, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, CRIMEDIM - Center for Research and Education in Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Department of Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “A. Avogadro,” 28100 Novara, Italy.

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Published

04/01/2013

How to Cite

Ragazzoni, MD, L., P. L. Ingrassia, MD, PhD, G. Gugliotta, MD, M. Tengattini, MD, J. M. Franc, MD, FCFP.EM, and F. D. Corte, MD. “Italian Medical Students and Disaster Medicine: Awareness and Formative Needs”. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, vol. 8, no. 2, Apr. 2013, pp. 127-36, doi:10.5055/ajdm.2013.0119.

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