Distributed Medical Training for Force Mobilization and Disaster Response

Military and civilian medicine currently lack a capability to develop and deploy realistic, mission-oriented training to personnel. Non-physician medical personnel are at increased risk of unpreparedness due to abbreviated training for similar mission-oriented responsibilities as physicians. In this Phase I effort MDInformatics (MDI) proposes to design a Disaster Medicine Core Curriculum (DMCC), a customized dual-pedagogy (didactic presentations + case-based instruction) e-learning platform, and a course content development process to be used in Phase II in order to complete development of the full Disaster Medicine courseware. This project is targeting the > 8 million U.S. medical first responders with a new Web-based instructional platform designed to promote long-term knowledge retention and richer clinical thought processes through the incorporation of analogic case simulations and basic science learning surround. The e-learning platform will include a customized learning management system (LMS) to track user performance. Deliverables for Phase I will include fully detailed investigational study designs to measure the impact of the new system on learner knowledge retention and ability to relate clinical problems to the pathophysiological basis of disease. The new system will represent a major step forward in e-learning technology incorporating important instructional psychological principles and a powerful "learn-and-practice" approach.