Course Syllabus

FES 4224 Management of Mass Casualty Incidents

Course Description

The course covers systematic approaches to triage, treatment, and transport in response to large scale EMS incidents. Resource planning including coordination with hospital systems is also stressed.

Purpose of Course: Responding to mass casualty incidents is an increasingly important part of providing emergency medical services. Mass casualty incidents can arise as a result of natural (hurricane), technological (airliner crash), or man-made (terrorism) disasters. The manager of a fire-service, hospital-based, or third service EMS agency must be able to plan for and respond to such incidents effectively and efficiently. Effectiveness is defined as delivering the appropriate level of care to as many victims as resources allow and efficiency is defined as making maximum utilization of limited public and private resources. Since mass casualty incidents can quickly overwhelm even the largest EMS systems, as New York City learned subsequent to the World Trade Center bombing, students must learn how to access additional resources through mutual aid agreements and statewide disaster plans. To do this, they must know how to systematically assess their own organization's capabilities and those of adjacent.

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills: None

Learning Objectives

The student will be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge of categories of incidents that lead to mass casualties
• demonstrate the ability to calculate levels of risk and severity for potential incidents
• demonstrate the ability to develop contingency plans for mass casualty incidents
• demonstrate knowledge of the complete emergency medical system and its resources
  demonstrate the ability to conduct EMS capability assessments
•  demonstrate the ability to access additional EMS resources via the comprehensive emergency management plan
• demonstrate knowledge of the powers and functions of public health officers at the local, state, and Federal levels

Course Goals

• How This Course Relates to the Student Learning Outcomes in the FIRE emergency services program:

  Identify and demonstrate proper knowledge and use of comprehensive emergency management/command and control skills in major catastrophic incidents in fire and emergency services.

  Demonstrate effective leadership behavior and skills in fire and emergency services.

• Teaching Philosophy:  I am looking for students to demonstrate a working knowledge of the subject. You need to be creative when you complete your assignments but maintain a professional appearance of your work. Your work needs to be complete and in such a manner that someone can pick up your document and understand what you are trying to convey. And most of all your work needs to be supported with research and cited in properly in APA format. 

• Instructional Methods: The course is designed for individual and group interactivity. It is important to post and respond to discussion questions in the course within the time frame allotted. This provides a learning environment by networking with other students in the course. The assignments are individual base to give you the opportunity to do a variety of activities, in many cases, similar to what you will be doing in role as a leader in the emergency services profession. g

Course Policies

Attendance Policy: The course is designed in module format. You should check the site at least once a week. You are required to complete the assignments including discussion questions within the time period designated on the module. There will be meetings set up throughout the course. Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this course are consistent with university policies that can be found in the online catalog at: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx.

• Quiz/Exam Policy: There is a final project for this course. There are no exams or quizzes.
• Make-up Policy:  You must contact me if you are going to be late on any assignment to receive credit.
• Assignment Policy:  All assignments have a due date. Please be sure to check the date and time it is due in each module. 
• Course Technology: Class meetings will require a web camera and mic/audio. If you are not able to use a web camera you will need to at least provide audio/mic, you can call in on a phone also. 

Canvas Information & Technology

For issues with technical difficulties for E-learning in Canvas, please contact the UF Help Desk at:

• Learning-support@ufl.edu
• (352) 392-HELP - select option 2
• https://lss.at.ufl.edu/help.shtml

Any requests for make-ups due to technical issues MUST be accompanied by the ticket number received from LSS when the problem was reported to them. The ticket number will document the time and date of the problem. You MUST e-mail your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a make-up.

Other resources are available athttp://www.distance.ufl.edu/getting-help for:

• Counseling and Wellness resources
• Disability resources
• Resources for handling student concerns and complaints
• Library Help Desk support

UF Honor Code

UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge which states, “We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honor and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code.  On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: “On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment.” The Honor Code (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-code/) specifies a number of behaviors that are in violation of this code and the possible sanctions.  Furthermore, you are obliged to report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to appropriate personnel. If you have any questions or concerns, please consult with the instructor of in this class.

UF Policies

University Policy on Accommodating Students with Disabilities: Students requesting accommodation for disabilities must first register with the Dean of Students Office. Here is the link. 

The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation. You must submit this documentation prior to submitting assignments or taking the quizzes or exams. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the office as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations.

University Policy on Academic Misconduct:  Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University community. Students should be sure that they understand the UF Student Honor Code.

Netiquette: Communication Courtesy:  All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages, threaded discussions and chats. 

Grading Scale

Course Grades

Late Assignments and Discussion Posts

• Assignments 48 hours late will receive a 10% deduction in their grade.
• Assignments more than 48 hours but less than 30 days late will receive a 20% deduction in their grade.
• Assignments more than 30 days late but submitted during the semester will receive a 50% deduction in their grade.
• Discussions more than 48 hours late will receive a 25% deduction in their grade.
• Discussions more than 48 hours later will receive a 50% deduction in their grade.

Please note: Any student have less than 75% of their work complete for the semester cannot earn an “I” contract. If you have 75% of the work complete, you can propose an I contract to the instructor. It is your responsibility to keep your instructor informed at all times. The instructor does have the right under extenuating circumstances with proper notification to assist the student by extending the above time requirements.

*Points will be deducted for all late assignments.

Evaluation Process

Students are expected to provide feedback on the quality of instruction in this course based on 10 criteria. These evaluations are conducted online at https://evaluations.ufl.edu. Evaluations are typically open during the last two or three weeks of the semester, but students will be given specific times when they are open.