Preparing for the Unexpected: Emergency Response Management for Internal Medicine Residency Programs
As we see the global impacts of climate change directly contribute to an increased burden of natural disasters in the world, residency programs must be prepared to quickly respond to these and other man-made emergencies to ensure safety in patient care. Having a well-constructed response plan and strategy in place - ready to implement at a moment's notice - will allow appropriate management and decrease stress surrounding unexpected events.
Through this workshop, we will showcase a comprehensive disaster response plan, which includes a framework for a resident alert system, contingency staffing with ride-out and relief teams, communication challenges and strategies, coordination with partner hospitals, and post-disaster wellness needs. We will highlight our novel color-coded resident alert system and describe how a streamlined plan can be applied to different types of unexpected disasters.
Through a hands-on review of case studies, participants will work through considering challenges and solutions for different disaster situations and scenarios. In small groups, participants will consider their own unique program challenges and create an individualized response system for their own residency program. At the end of the workshop, participants will have created a draft emergency response plan with next-steps identified to help them work on implementation at their home institutions. By focusing on comprehensive pre-emptive planning for the unexpected, we hope to help programs learn from our experiences to execute their own smooth response plans.
Through this workshop, we will showcase a comprehensive disaster response plan, which includes a framework for a resident alert system, contingency staffing with ride-out and relief teams, communication challenges and strategies, coordination with partner hospitals, and post-disaster wellness needs. We will highlight our novel color-coded resident alert system and describe how a streamlined plan can be applied to different types of unexpected disasters.
Through a hands-on review of case studies, participants will work through considering challenges and solutions for different disaster situations and scenarios. In small groups, participants will consider their own unique program challenges and create an individualized response system for their own residency program. At the end of the workshop, participants will have created a draft emergency response plan with next-steps identified to help them work on implementation at their home institutions. By focusing on comprehensive pre-emptive planning for the unexpected, we hope to help programs learn from our experiences to execute their own smooth response plans.