Simulating Pandemic Influenza: Using Technology to Teach Public Health Preparedness

Background: Innovative methods to efficiently simulate pandemic situations can facilitate engagement and preparedness learning. Objective: Describe and evaluate a pilot model, using technology, to simulate pandemic progression and decision-making in a 500-bed hospital and surrounding community. Methods: The University of Vermont College of Medicine Educational Tool (COMET), an electronic learning system, was used as a teaching platform. 72 clerkship medical students participated in a 4 hour pilot exercise. A first-hour introductory lecture concluded with a simulated emergency broadcast message from the department of health director that WHO Pandemic Phase had changed from III to IV, and students transitioned to small groups. A total of 6 timed emergency broadcasts were sequentially dispatched into 9 small classrooms over a 2-hour period, followed by a 1 hour large-group debriefing. The scenario began with a student with flu-like symptoms following international travel and progressed to demands for anti-viral medications and vaccines, work refusals, and ventilator shortages. Decisions faced extreme time-pressures, as subsequent emergency broadcasts appeared, with student groups required to develop medication distribution plans and triage patients. Results: 94.4% completed a COMET evaluation to assess knowledge and attitudes: 93% agreed or strongly agreed that physicians and hospitals are best prepared for pandemic illness with written plans, preparedness exercises, and stockpiles of antiviral medications and personal protective equipment; 94% agreed or strongly agreed that understanding their role in public health emergencies is important to their training. Conclusions: This innovative simulation was an engaging method to teach preparedness and could be utilized in other settings.