title: Italian medical students and disaster medicine: awareness and formative needs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Over the last century, the number of disasters has increased. Many governments and scientific institutions agree that disaster medicine education should be included in the standard medical curriculum. Italian medical students' perceptions of mass casualty incidents and disasters and whether-and if so to what extent-such topics are part of their academic program were investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  A Web-based survey was disseminated to all students registered with the national medical students' association (Segretariato Italiano Studenti Medicina), a member of the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations. The survey consisted of 14 questions divided into four sections.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six hundred thirty-nine medical students completed the survey; 38.7 percent had never heard about disaster medicine; 90.9 percent had never attended elective academic courses on disaster medicine; 87.6 percent had never attended non-academic courses on disaster medicine; 91.4 percent would welcome the introduction of a course on disaster medicine in their core curriculum; and 94.1 percent considered a knowledge of disaster medicine important for their future career.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most of the students surveyed had never attended courses on disaster medicine during their medical school program. However, respondents would like to increase their knowledge in this area and would welcome the introduction of specific courses into the standard medical curriculum.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research and Education in Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Department of Translational Medicine, Universita degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale "A. Avogadro," 28100 Novara, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ragazzoni
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor in Anesthesia, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, CRIMEDIM - Center for Research and Education in Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Department of Translational Medicine, Universita degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale "A. Avogadro," 28100 Novara, Italy.
authors.forename: Pier Luigi
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Ingrassia
authors.affiliation: Center for Research and Education in Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Department of Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale "A. Avogadro," 28100 Novara, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gugliotta
authors.affiliation: Center for Research and Education in Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Department of Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale "A. Avogadro," 28100 Novara, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tengattini
authors.affiliation: Associate Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Alberta, University of Alberta Hospital, Alberta T6G 2B7, Canada.
authors.forename: Jeffrey Michael
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Franc
authors.affiliation: Full Professor in Anesthesia, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, CRIMEDIM - Center for Research and Education in Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Department of Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale "A. Avogadro," 28100 Novara, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco Della
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Corte
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003479:Curriculum; D054597:Disaster Medicine / Q000193:education*; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D054527:Mass Casualty Incidents; D020380:Needs Assessment; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*