Full-scale simulation may be used to train medical students in disaster medicine

The international medical community has identified medical students as a viable resource to be used in response to national and international disasters. However today there is still no formal pre- or post-graduate training in disaster medicine for medical students in Denmark. The Students' Society of Anaesthesiology and Traumatology (SATS) in Copenhagen developed a three-day disaster medicine course called Trauma Days 2013. The course curriculum was designed to give participants insight in and the basic skills required during a disastrous event and consisted of lectures, workshops, and full-scale simulations. The course may be useful as an educational introduction to the topic of disaster medicine. A formalized curriculum in medical schools, eventually as an elective course, may educate medical students in disaster medicine. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.