The HDM (Hospital Disaster Management) Course has three main teaching objectives :

• to provide the students with knowledge of the effects of disasters and major incidents on hospitals,
• to increase the students’ capability to develop an effective disaster preparedness plan for their hospitals,
• to increase the skills needed to properly manage a disaster situation (crisis management). The course is designed for physicians and nurses working in hospital environments (12-16 participants). Its duration is 20 hours over two and a half days, which are divided into lectures, planning sessions and simulations. The final assessment is based on a disaster scenario evaluation and an MCQ paper.

The planning sessions are set in a virtual city, with its specific features (environment, population, industries, infrastructures, social issues, etc.) and its related risks. The participants are divided into three teams, each caring for a particular city hospital, and are given the task of increasing its disaster preparedness. The three teams must cooperate to define common strategies, manage the budget and reach agreements with other organizations and agencies (for example, with the local EMS).

Computer-based simulations are organized :

• role-playing sessions, where each participant plays a management role specified by the hospital disaster preparedness plan, and takes critical decisions,
• teaching sessions specifically aimed to develop specific skills crucial in crisis management : communication and team management.

The Hospital Disaster Management Course is endorsed by the Associazione Italiana Medicina delle Catastrofi (AIMC) and has been chosen as reference course for disaster preparedness by several major Italian hospitals.