Newswise — GW University's National Emergency Medical Services Preparedness Initiative announces the launch of Zero Hour: America's Medic, a high-tech video game based learning tool that is designed to train and exercise the first responder and EMS communities through a series of virtual simulations based on the 16 national planning scenarios developed by US Department of Homeland Security. When playing the game and confronted with biological, explosive, chemical and earthquake disasters, first responders must meet the challenges they would face during an actual disaster. This enables players to practice skills in triage management and operational management, in real time. Participants will also earn continuing education credits for playing the game.
"This is the first-of-its-kind training tool. The game allows the player to review and evaluate themselves and gauge areas that require more skill training," said Gregg Lord, Associate Director, Co- investigator and senior policy analyst, GW's Office of Homeland Security.
The game was created with input from and support from EMS subject matter experts from across the country. Many of the pressing emergency response issues were identified during two summits hosted by GW's Office of Homeland Security in 2006 and 2007 and translated into content for Zero Hour: America's Medic.
"We are very excited to have spearheaded this project because we believe that it truly is a new day in training, skills development and practice," said Lord. "By creating a realistic and medically accurate environment, it enables first responders to learn and exercise their skills."
The game is available for download from NEMSPI's learning management system to the user's individual computer and then can be operated at the player's convenience as long as the user is connected to the internet. Virtual gaming, such as "Zero Hour," has the potential to revolutionize first responder training and continuing education programs by offering a cost-effective complement to traditional education and exercising. Some day rather than running one large-scale live action exercise at massive expense, local, state and federal jurisdictions may host virtual disaster drills using massive multiplayer games, thereby allowing use of the software repeatedly.
"This has been an amazing project to be a part of because it represents a new era of skills training for all kinds of emergency personnel. We are confident that by providing more opportunities for first responders to practice these critical skills, we will have a more prepared emergency response force working for the citizens of our country," said Kimberly Acquaviva, PhD, MSW, co-investigator, assistant professor, Department of Nursing Education, and director of The National Collaborative on Aging.
Funding for this project came from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. While this is Lord's first foray into creating virtual gaming as an educational tool, he hopes to develop others to train the entire emergency workforce, including firefighters and police officers. Zero Hour: America's Medic was constructed by Virtual Heroes, Inc. of Raleigh, NC.
For more information or to preview the game, go to the National Emergency Medical Services Preparedness Initiative's Web site at http://www.nemspi.org.
The George Washington University Office of Homeland SecurityThe George Washington University Office of Homeland Security is comprised of the Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) and Grants & Training division. HSPI is a nonpartisan "think and do" tank whose mission is to build bridges between theory and practice to advance homeland security through an interdisciplinary approach. Grants & Training is a federally and privately funded division whose experts in a variety of homeland security disciplines focus on education, training and policy of the nation's first responders in the primary areas of homeland security and emergency preparedness and response.
About The George Washington University Medical CenterThe George Washington University Medical Center is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary academic health center that has consistently provided high-quality medical care in the Washington, DC metropolitan area since 1824. The Medical Center comprises the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the 11th oldest medical school in the country; the School of Public Health and Health Services, the only such school in the nation's capital; GW Hospital, jointly owned and operated by a partnership between The George Washington University and a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc.; and the GW Medical Faculty Associates, an independent faculty practice plan. For more information on GWUMC, visit www.gwumc.edu.
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