ABPS Disaster Medicine case studies
ABPS Disaster Medicine · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Disaster Medicine certification through the American Board of Physician Specialties is a board credential for physicians who expect to manage patients and systems when demand suddenly outstrips capacity - emergency physicians, EMS medical directors, hospitalists, surgeons, critical care and preventive medicine specialists, and clinicians who serve on deployable teams or in public health roles. The exam is multiple choice and samples the full breadth of the field: preparedness and planning, incident command and multi-agency coordination, hazard and risk analysis, mass casualty triage and surge, prehospital operations, hospital emergency operations including evacuation and supply failure, CBRNE response, communicable disease emergencies, behavioral and vulnerable-population concerns, and the recovery, legal, and ethical questions that follow an event. The ABPS Disaster Medicine case studies are 5 cases and about 2,790 words.
1The Collapsed Parking Structure: Triage Under Scarce Transport
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes a dense urban district at 04:40. You are the first-arriving EMS supervisor at a six-level parking garage that has pancaked on its eastern half; a mixed-use building beside it has partially failed.
632 words, about 3 min2The Nursing Home Evacuation During a Wildfire
A fast-moving wildfire is 6 miles from a 120-bed skilled nursing facility and moving with a forecast wind shift toward the facility within 3 hours. The facility has 96 residents: 22 are independent, 40 require assistance with mobility, 18 have advanced dementia, 10 are on oxygen, and 6 are ventilator-dependent in a small subacute unit.
533 words, about 3 min3The Suspected Chemical Release at a Transit Station
At 08:15 during rush hour, a subway station reports multiple people collapsing on the platform with burning eyes, copious secretions, and muscle twitching. You are the on-scene EMS branch director.
491 words, about 2 min4The Field Hospital Surge After a Stadium Collapse
A stadium roof partially collapses during a concert, producing an estimated 180 casualties. You are the incident commander for the medical branch.
550 words, about 3 min5The Measles Case in a Shelter
A 200-bed emergency shelter opened 5 days ago after a hurricane. This morning a 4-year-old presents to the on-site medical tent with fever of 39.2°C, cough, coryza, and a maculopapular rash that started on the face and is spreading downward.
584 words, about 3 min