School of Pharmacy holds emergency management simulation
Event helps students develop an understanding of the complexities of emergency incidents
On Thursday, students from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences participated in an emergency management simulation training event at the school. It’s a way for students to experience what it may look like to work alongside different organizations when an incident or emergency occurs.
Caitlin Cavanaugh, the associate director of ’s Office of Emergency Management, and her team participate as a resource to support in any way they can. SOPPS faculty and staff do all of the planning and preparation.
“These exercises serve as a great opportunity to push students beyond textbook knowledge, allowing them to practice critical decision-making, communication and coordination in a simulated crisis,” she said.
Emily Leppien, a clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice, has been involved in this emergency management simulation since fall 2018: “In collaboration with other faculty at SOPPS, James ’JJ’ Brice and I have coordinated the implementation and facilitation of the simulation offering at our school over the past several years. We work closely with partners from SUNY Upstate Medical University’s Clinical Campus and Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences’ Master of Public Health programs.”
The four-hour exercise simulates a public health incident or “emergency” that affects a fictitious community. Students are not informed of the simulated “emergency.” They must work in their teams to identify the public health threat.
During the activity, events unfold that are dependent on the actions of the various teams. Faculty, staff and community experts work with students of different disciplines to facilitate discussions and answer technical questions during the simulation. Once students identify the emergency, they must activate the , working together to coordinate a response and implement solutions.
Mia Hollstein, a second-year pharmacy student, said participating in the event was a fun and engaging experience, unlike anything she’s experienced at SOPPS so far.
“I was part of the simulated Health Department, so we fielded calls and requests from people running the simulation as well as other simulation groups like the Mayor’s Office, the Office of Emergency Services and news media,” she said. “I even got to speak on the ’news broadcast’ about the anthrax infections and how the Health Department was dealing with the outbreak. One of my favorite parts of the simulation was getting to work alongside the Master of Public Health and Doctor of Medicine students because it helped our groups have a wider perspective to use when problem-solving.”
Brice, the director of student affairs at the School of Pharmacy, capped off the day by thanking all of the students who participated, hoping they were able to get a lot out of the event.
“As an 11-year member of the University-wide Incident Management Team and the current Planning Section Chief, I recognize the importance of educating our health professionals about the Incident Command System,” Brice said. “By giving them a chance to role-play a scenario that may utilize ICS, it is a great way to deliver that learning in an experiential way. As we explain in the debrief, these students will be a critical component of any emergency response in their careers, and the more they understand about the interconnected nature of communities in crisis, the better they will be equipped to help should tragedy strike.”