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Emergency Physician Involvement in Hospital Preparedness: A National Survey of Academic Medical Centers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2020

Kevin M. Ryan*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston Medical Center, BCD Building, Boston, Massachusetts
Sina Mostaghimi
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston Medical Center, BCD Building, Boston, Massachusetts
Julianne Dugas
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston Medical Center, BCD Building, Boston, Massachusetts
Eric Goralnick
Affiliation:
Emergency Preparedness and Access Center, Harvard Medical School, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Kevin M. Ryan, Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston Medical Center, BCD Building 1st Floor, 1 BMC Place, Boston, MA 02118 (e-mail: kevin.ryan@bmc.org).

Abstract

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to determine the involvement of emergency medicine physicians at academic medical centers across the United States as well as their background training, roles in the hospital, and compensation if applicable for time dedicated to preparedness.

Methods:

A structured survey was delivered by means of email to 109 Chairs of Emergency Medicine across the United States at academic medical centers. Unique email links were provided to track response rate and entered into REDCap database. Descriptive statistics were obtained, including roles in emergency preparedness, training, and compensation.

Results:

Forty-four of the 109 participants responded, resulting in a response rate of 40.4%. The majority held an administrative role in emergency preparedness. Formal training for the position (participants could select more than 1) included various avenues of education such as emergency medical services fellowship or in-person or online courses. Of the participants, most (93.18%) strongly agreed that it was important to have a physician with expertise in disaster medicine assisting with preparedness.

Conclusions:

The majority of responding academic medical center participants have taken an active role in hospital emergency preparedness. Education for the roles varied though, often consisted of courses from emergency management agencies. Volunteering their time for compensation was noted by 27.5%.

Type
Brief Report
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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