Terrorist Event Training in US Medical Schools. A Survey of Chemical, Biologic, Radiologic, Nuclear, and High-Yield Explosives Training in US Medical Schools.

James M Feeney, Kristina Ziegler, Jessica M Armstrong, David Shapiro

September 11, 2001 saw the dawn of the US-led global war on terror, a combined diplomatic, military, social, and cultural war on terrorist activities. Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives (CBRNE), as a group of tactics, are often the preferred weapons of terrorists across the globe. We undertook a survey of US medical schools to determine what their self-reported level of training for terrorist events encompasses during the four years of undergraduate medical education. We surveyed 170 medical schools in the US and Puerto Rico using a five-question, internet-based survey, followed by telephone calls to curriculum offices for initial nonresponders. We used simple descriptive statistics to analyze the data. A majority of US medical schools that completed the survey (79 schools or 65.3%) have no required lecture or course on CBRNE or terrorist activities during the first or second year (preclinical years). Ninety-eight out of the 121 respondents (81.0%), however, believed that CBRNE training was either very important or somewhat important, as reflected in survey answers. Most physician educators believe that training in CBRNE is important; however this belief has not resulted in widespread acceptance of a CBRNE curriculum in US medical schools.