Emergency Preparedness and Response

Mission:
Provide future physicians with training in aspects of Emergency Operations, Disaster Medicine,
Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response, and Risk Communication.
The Program includes didactic coursework, research experience (Bench Science, Epidemiology, or Drill
Development/Review), and an experiential component (Training Drill and Emergency Medical Services).

Timeline for student completion of concentration requirements:
Year 1: Didactic Courses*
UTMS Summer Research Program (10 weeks)
Year 2: Didactic Courses*
Year 3: Didactic Courses*
Year 4: Experiential Activities**

*Any sequence and yearly distribution of didactic courses (listed below) is acceptable, but all must be
completed by the end of Year 3.
**All experiential activities (listed below) are required

Didactic Requirements (to be completed by the end of year 3)

• Emergency Operations Management Course, a series of 4 nationally recognized free on-line
  courses from FEMA, called Incident Command Systems 100, 200, 700, and 800. (12.5 h)
  https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-100.c 2 h
  https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-200.c 4 h
  https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-700.b 3.5 h
  https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-800.d 3. h
• Risk Communication Course (SPH), a lecture (live or recorded) that provides strategy for preparing
  messages during emergencies to avoid mixed messages and confusion between officials and the
  public. (1.5 h)
  Part 1 https://uthvideo.uth.tmc.edu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=51730fbd-3da6-4ad9-9981-
  aabd01492151
  Part 2 https://uthvideo.uth.tmc.edu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=bff17a02-b99d-4e6a-b698-aabe0136f1db
• Core Disaster Life Support Training, a free on-line course from the National Center for Biomedical
  Research and Training that serves as an introduction to all-hazards preparedness: a brief overview of
  natural and accidental man made events, traumatic and explosive events, nuclear and radiologic events,
  biological events, and chemical events. (time = 4h)
• Bioterrorism and Emerging Infectious Diseases: Preparedness and Response – GS07 1011, a 10-
  12 week seminar series with lectures from local experts. The series occurs in the fall semester of
  odd years. Seminars are presented on Mondays from noon to 1:00 pm. (total time = 10-12h)

Experiential Requirements

• Participation in a Training Drill (biological, chemical, or radiation) of the Texas State Guard, Texas
  Task Force One Urban Search and Rescue, or a Medical Reserve Core Unit(generally these occur
  monthly, advance notice required)
• Participation in the planning and execution of a hospital emergency exercise
• Elective – EMR 4005, Emergency Medical Services and Disaster Medicine (year 4)

Faculty-Mentored Student Scholarly Projects
Project may be Bench Science, Epidemiology, or Development/Review of a Training Drill. A 2-3
page proposal must be submitted to the directors for approval. Research will continue beyond Year
1 summer as necessary. Students will apply for funding from the SRP. Generally, students begin
their research as part of the UTMS Summer Research Program (SRP). Students who are not
awarded funding from the SRP, may be funded by the PI’s grant.

Projects will result in an abstract, a poster presentation, and a student-authored manuscript.

• The abstract can be submitted to the Summer Research Program Abstract Book.
• The poster can be presented in the Summer Research Program Poster Session (Fall of year2).
• The poster may be presented at other local or national conferences as the discretion of
  the research advisor.
• The paper may be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal in the field or (more likely) data from the paper may be combined with data from other related research for submission of a co-authored manuscript.

Scholarly Concentration Faculty Directors

Faculty Name Contribution(s) to Concentration

Robert Emery Public Health Research Mentor, Didactic Teaching
Brandy Ferguson Emergency Medicine Mentor, EMS Disaster Medicine Elective

Other Mentors:
Jim Langabeer, PhD, FHIMSS, CMA
Associate Professor and Director
Center for Emergency Preparedness
School of Public Health