447 The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing · Vol 48, No 10, 2017 An Interprofessional Approach to Continuing Education With Mass Casualty Simulation: Planning and Execution Deborah A. Saber, PhD, RN, CCRN-K; Kelley Strout, PhD, RN; Lisa Swanson Caruso, DNP, MS, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE; Charlene Ingwell-Spolan, PhD, RN; and Aiden Koplovsky, NRAEMT D isasters, which may occur at any time, can be naturally occurring (e.g., tornados, wildfres) or man-made (e.g., large-scale accidents, terrorist attacks). According to the Federal Emergency Manage- ment Agency (2016), 58 natural disasters were declared in the United States in 2016 that required action from frst responders and federal assistance. Te Boston Mara- thon bombing in 2013 required massive assistance from frst responders (Cohen, 2013). Because RNs and other health care professionals (e.g., emergency medical techni- cians [EMTs], frefghters) work together as frst respond- ers during mass casualty incidents (MCIs), it is critical that education opportunities are available to support the development of efective interprofessional team strategies for disaster response. Basic disaster education training for nursing stu- dents and simulation and emergency response training for EMTs and frefghters provides the structure and foundation for disaster preparedness; however, contin- ued education is required to facilitate the evaluation and evolution of disaster response (World Health Organiza- tion, 2015, 2016). Continued education with partici- patory feld practice provides valuable opportunities to synthesize information and enhance the skills needed to respond to varied catastrophes including infectious outbreaks, natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, smaller scale disasters caused by mass transit accidents, and attacks that result in mass casualties. MCI simulation is also a method of providing inter- professional health care team education. Te large scale, multipurpose MCI simulation discussed in this article, which was intended to enhance training for experienced frst responders and nursing students, engaged more than 100 individuals from multiple community agencies and university departments. Te Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) model (Project Management Insti- tute [PMI], 2008) was applied in assessing an interprofes- sional mass casualty simulation designed to provide con- Many natural and man-made disasters require the as- sistance from teams of health care professionals. Know- ing that continuing education about disaster simulation training is essential to nursing students, nurses, and emergency first responders (e.g., emergency medical technicians, firefighters, police officers), a university in the northeastern United States planned and implement- ed an interprofessional mass casualty incident (MCI) di- saster simulation using the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) management framework. The school of nursing and University Volunteer Ambulance Corps (UVAC) worked together to simulate a bus crash with disaster victim actors to provide continued educa- tion for community first responders and train nursing students on the MCI process. This article explains the simulation activity, planning process, and achieved out- comes. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2017;48(10):447-453. abstract Dr. Saber, Dr. Strout, and Dr. Ingwell-Spolan are Assistant Professors, and Dr. Caruso is Lecturer, School of Nursing, and Mr. Koplovsky is Stu- dent Chief of Service, Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine, Orono, Maine. Te authors have disclosed no potential conficts of interest, fnancial or otherwise. Address correspondence to Deborah A. Saber, PhD, RN, CCRN-K, As- sistant Professor, University of Maine School of Nursing, 5724 Dunn Hall, Room 224, Orono ME, 04469; e-mail: deborah.saber@maine.edu. Received: January 27, 2017; Accepted: June 26, 2017 doi:10.3928/00220124-20170918-05