title: Large-Scale Simulation for Teaching Combat and Operational Stress Control: Operation Bushmaster.
abstract: Large-scale high-fidelity casualty simulation and exposure to realistic environmental stressors in Operation Bushmaster represents a unique teaching environment that challenges military medical students to apply skills in assessment and acute management of stress responses. While this training event is specific to military medical students, the skills demonstrated could be readily applied in natural disaster or other mass civilian casualties. Schools seeking to teach mass casualty response could implement many of the elements of the curriculum outlined in this article on a smaller scale. Doing so exposes students to decision making in a disaster where the number of patients exceeds available resources and damage to infrastructure may limit their capabilities. Our experience with large-scale simulation suggests that this is an effective teaching tool.
authors.affiliation: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA, james.west@usuhs.edu.
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Justin T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Woodson
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Benedek
mesh_terms: D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D003479:Curriculum; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D008890:Military Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D016544:Patient Simulation; D000066908:Simulation Training / Q000379:methods; D040921:Stress Disorders, Traumatic / Q000628:therapy; D013315:Stress, Psychological