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Medical Response to Weapons of Mass Destruction

Audience:  EMS responders, Incident Commanders, and medical personnel involved in an initial response to a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) event.  In addition, any personnel who may be employed in the initial response or First Receivers and Public Health can benefit from this course.

Goals:  The overall goal of this training program is to identify basic strategies for the medical response to a WMD event that build upon existing medical doctrine while addressing the unique considerations of the terrorism environment.

Description:  This course is designed to address the medical issues involved in preparing for catastrophic WMD-related medical incidents.  It focuses on a systems approach and identifies the types of resources that can assist in the medical response.  It addresses a range of issues from preplanning through patient care to handling mass fatalities. 

Overview of Topics:

• Application and integration of National Incident Management System (NIMS), Incident Command System (ICS), and the National Response Plan (NRP) to the medical system
• Specialized medical and rescue resources, including the National Disaster Management System (NDMS), Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), and Federal Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR)
• “Mainstays of patient care” at a WMD event
• Clinical effects and symptoms of various types of WMD agents
• Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) medical interventions overview for various types of WMDs
• Tactics used to respond to WMD events
• Planning and responding to events involving mass fatalities