BSOM Bulletin

On November 17, the Department of Emergency Medicine, in conjunction with the BSOM Emergency Medicine Interest Group and the WSU National Center for Medical Readiness, hosted a mass casualty incident response exercise at Calamityville in Fairborn. Spearheaded by R3 Resident Dr. Steve Repas and Prehospital and Operational Emergency Medicine Director Dr. Kermit Huebner, the exercise entailed rescue teams of medical students responding to an active shooter event. Teams moved into the warm zone and performed tactical primary surveys, immediate action interventions, and tactical extrication to a hasty casualty collection point. There, additional student teams performed reassessment and continued treatment prior to evacuating casualties to rotary wing EMS medical evacuation (medevac). 

Over 84 students participated in the exercise, which ran from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Also assisting were additional DEM faculty and residents, along with law enforcement tactical medical professionals from the region. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed pizza courtesy of the DEM and BSOM. Exercises such as this prepare student doctors, whatever specialty they choose to pursue, for responding to community-wide emergencies, as well as teach critical skills, such as triage, bleeding control, and basic airway management.