Engaging student pharmacists in emergency and disaster preparedness education

Introduction: To design and assess an elective course that introduces students to emergency and disaster preparedness (EDP) education. Methods: A 2-credit hour elective course in EDP was developed and delivered to second-year students in an accelerated Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program. Lectures, case-based discussions, and presentations comprised the learning strategies in this course. Additionally, students took an independent study certificate program (ICS-100) offered by the federal emergency management agency and completed pre/ post-course surveys. Results: Student knowledge gains were demonstrated by cumulative points obtained on assessments employed in the course. Knowledge gains were additionally captured using rating scale and reflections distilled from pre-/ post-course survey responses. Besides learning about the various logistical issues, required flexibility, and manual labor among others, students also learned of alternative career pathways and increased interprofessional collaborative work required during emergencies and disasters. Conclusions: An elective course in EDP was well received by pharmacy students and enhanced their level of preparedness to respond to an emergency. Instructors at pharmacy programs planning to offer a course in EDP may benefit from the design and structure described in this paper.