Attitudes of Lazarski University Medical Students towards Disaster Medicine; Questionnaire Survey

Abstract

Background: The paper presents issues related to the deficit in medical student training in the field of disaster medicine. According to Polish medical educational standards, there is no obligation imposed by the legislator to educate future doctors in disaster medicine. However, there is the university’s authorial capacity, which, as exemplified by Lazarski University in Warsaw, has been successfully implemented for teaching students disaster medicine and has demonstrated effectiveness in education in this field. Methods: The study was conducted by means of a diagnostic survey method, using an authorial survey questionnaire. A total of 168 medical students between 2020 and 2022 took part in the survey. The questionnaire contained 10 questions, one- and multiple-choice ones, of which one was about self-assessment. Students completed the questionnaire twice, before and after the disaster medicine course. Conclusion: The results clearly indicate the need for educational standards for issues related to disaster medicine, especially for faculties of medicine, where future doctors will be trained to deal with large numbers of casualties. Students manifest the need for such courses during their studies and as part of postgraduate training.