BETHPAGE, N.Y. - Medical students on Long Island are ready for a potential disaster.<\/p>\n
The Zucker School of Medicine put its first-year students through unique training, responding to a mass casualty event.<\/p>\n
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reports, these future doctors are also learning to be EMTs.<\/p>\n
The screams are simulated, and so is the smoke, but the scenario is all too real: A mass shooting on a train, or derailment. In this drill, medical students are learning just how chaotic and critical the front of the front lines are.<\/p>\n
Ninety-nine first-year students with Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra\/Northwell teamed up with the Nassau Fire Academy, who teach what hell can look like.<\/p>\n
\"It's one thing to talk about it. It's one thing to plan for it, but until it's hands-on, you're not building the muscle memory necessary for this,\" said Chief Michael Strong of the Nassau County Fire Service Academy.<\/p>\n
\"This is what we want because in a real situation we are going to have chaos like this, people yelling, screaming, grabbing on to the rescuers,\" said EMS instructor George Sandas.<\/p>\n
The drill teaches future doctors to think and act decisively.<\/p>\n
\"Definitely a lot to take in. A little stressful, but in a good way, you know. I think it's a great learning experience,\" said medical student Allison Winter.<\/p>\n
Because disaster can strike anywhere: A terrorist attack, a crash, a mass shooting.<\/p>\n
\"I grew up with school shootings happening very often,\" said medical student Nefes Prizada. \"I was a little shaken, but I was grateful for the opportunity to learn what to do in that situation.\"<\/p>\n
\"What they're doing here is rapid assessment, rapid treatment. They're doing a really good job of triaging,\" said Paul Wilders of the Nassau County Fire Service Academy.<\/p>\n
The training is unique for medical students. It is one of the only such programs in the nation, rising out of the ashes of 9\/11.<\/p>\n
\"We decided to bring alive the lessons learned, really items that we thought every physician should know, regardless of specialty, about being involved in a disaster,\" said Dr. Brad Kaufman, an associate professor at the Zucker School of Medicine.<\/p>\n
\"This is all about learning to be yourself in an emergency situation,\" said Zucker School of Medicine Dean Dr. David Battinelli.<\/p>\n
Students will finish their first weeks of medical schools as certified EMTs, because disaster is not a matter of if, but when.<\/p>\n
Carolyn Gusoff has covered some of the most high profile news stories in the New York City area and is best known as a trusted, tenacious, consistent and caring voice of Long Island's concerns.<\/p>\n
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Link: BETHPAGE, N.Y. - Medical students on Long Island are ready for a potential disaster Continue reading
\nMedical students take part in disaster drill simulating mass casualty event on Long Island - CBS News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"