January 2003 • Volume 9 • Number 1 |
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To the reader Write us a letter of 200 words or fewer (subject to editing). FP Report, 11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Leawood, KS 66211-2672; fax them to (913) 906-6089; call (800) 274-2237, Ext. 5230; or contact fpreport@aafp.org via e-mail. |
To the editor:
I read with interest the October 2002 FP Report coverage of a study in the September Journal of Family Practice. According to FP Report, the study found that three out of four FPs surveyed last fall reported they were not prepared to respond to a bioterrorist attack.
The article also stated, "Results from the study have served to inform the Academy's efforts to develop targeted CME programming on bioterrorism. ... Other significant fallout from the study is that the AAFP national research network this summer applied to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for a five-year grant to develop a National Bioterrorism Sentinel Surveillance and Education Network."
In addition to being involved locally in disaster preparedness planning, FPs should avail themselves of educational opportunities that already exist, while at the same time avoiding the creation of CME and other didactic offerings that duplicate what already is available. One example is the Advanced Hazmat Life Support course (www.ahls.org) out of the University of Arizona. I'm an instructor for this 16-hour, two-day course. It covers toxic terrorism as well as the medical treatment of other toxicant exposures, which are also possible weapons of terrorism. Those physicians who feel unprepared for such an event will find this course of interest.
Manuel Mendoza, M.D.
Baraboo,
Wis.
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