Development and evaluation of an elective course on the pharmacist’s role in disaster management in France

PURPOSE: To describe our experiences with the development of an elective course on the pharmacist’s role in disaster management for third-year pharmacy students and to evaluate its effects on students’ knowledge and their perceptions of the introduction of this course into the curriculum. METHODS: An expert team of physicians, surgeons, and pharmacists of the Service de Santé des Armées, pharmacists teaching at the Faculty of Pharmacy, and pharmacists from the Bataillon des Marins Pompiers de Marseille developed a program consisting of 30 hours of modules on disaster response training based on previously published recommendations, a literature analysis, and international guidelines. Students’ knowledge of key competencies was assessed after some teaching sessions through a multiple-choice quiz. Students’ self-perceived knowledge, perceptions of teaching quality, and degree of satisfaction were evaluated through a voluntary survey after the last teaching session on November 15. RESULTS: The final curriculum consisted of 6 modules. Students’ knowledge of key competencies was assessed using multiple-choice quizzes, with a mean score of 19 of 25. Almost all students (98.3%) reported that this training program improved their knowledge of the pharmacist’s role in disaster management, and 79.3% stated that they would recommend this optional course. CONCLUSION: This training course demonstrated the potential to increase the number of pharmacists prepared to respond to disasters. It also expanded students’ understanding of the pharmacist’s role and stimulated their interest in emergency preparedness. Further refinement of the program, including a simulation of mass triage in an emergency setting, will be conducted next year.