Chemical and bioterrorism: An integrated emergency management approach at the undergraduate level

Abstract

The accredited Environmental Health Science BS degree program at Salisbury University, a member institution of the University System of Maryland, has developed an integrated chemical and bioterrorism course for undergraduate students and emergency management professionals. The one-credit class meets once a week. Course design is adapted from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) integrated approach to chemical and bioterrorist defensive training strategies. Course objectives are to gain knowledge of specific chemical and biological agents; become familiar with peacetime equivalents and surrogate agents; understand biomedical and environmental factors related to agent exposures; become familiar with integrated response strategies; and gain understanding of government policy issues, agency coordination, and field operations.
Student input is based on specific discipline group response and participation in a simulated bioagent release. Discipline groups include public and emergency health, media, critical incident stress analysis, and conflict resolution. Student evaluations of the first course offered in the fall semester of 2002 indicated that the simulated release exercise gave each student an increased awareness of multiagency response necessary to mitigate bioterrorist-initiated events. Evaluation results also suggested the following modifications: include at least one community professional in each discipline group, extend the course to two credits, and schedule the class in late afternoon to accommodate working professionals.