Ready or Not
This was the scene last month at a mock pandemic flu drill for Hopkins med students, sponsored by Emergency Medicine. More than 300 cardboard “patients” sat in rows at Mountcastle Auditorium. Each row was a "hospital unit" staffed by three students—a doctor, nurse and technician, and each unit had a facilitator and runner. Patients were given diagnoses, and the team administered treatment, but soon patients’ needs rapidly exceeded the various resources. Then units had to bargain with each other over the IV fluids and oxygen. The exercise was designed to give students a deeper understanding of what happens during a crisis when demands outstrip resources.