ASSESSMENT OF EGYPTIAN EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS’ LEVEL OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN MANAGING MASS CASUALTIES AND DISASTER EVENTS

Introduction: Egypt has been and continues to be at risk of a multitude of natural
and man-made disasters and mass casualty incidents (MCIs). In spite of the essential
and integral role of the emergency medical services in MCIs management, there is
abundant literature indicating that healthcare providers lack adequate education and
training in responding to MCIs. Aim of work: The objectives of the study were to
assess the current level of education, training, experience, preparedness and satisfaction
with knowledge and training of the Egyptian emergency medical technicians (EMTs)
in responding to MCIs. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional and questionnairebased survey that recruited 177 EMTs working within the Egyptian Ambulance
Authority. Planning, education and training scores were calculated in order to determine
a possible correlation with self-confidence and preparedness in responding to MCIs.
Results: The results of the study demonstrated that about one-third of the surveyed
EMTs found that they had a high MCIs planning level and about two-thirds had a high
MCIs training level. However, about 70% of EMTs had no training regarding terrorism
response and about half of them had never participated in MCIs exercises. Both the
MCIs training level and the participation in MCIs exercises were correlated with
the perception of the EMTs’ confidence and preparedness for their role during MCIs
response. The surveyed EMTs ranked the administrative obstacles as the most frequentbarriers to MCIs medical education or training. Conclusion: The educational strategy should include mechanism that substitute for practice and experience and should ensure that the identified training needs and the required competencies are met.