By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

About 30 future physicians spent the weekend getting hands-on practice in responding to a terrorist attack.

The first- and second-year medical students at University of Cincinnati toured a decontamination room, practiced clearing nasal passages on medical dummies and learned to identify the symptoms that would come with a bioterrorism threat like anthrax.

The tactical life support courses are among the first in the country to target medical management of terrorist incidents, said Dr. Denis FitzGerald, UC assistant professor of emergency medicine.

Sept. 11's terrorist attacks reinforced the critical importance of this kind of training, he said. It comes when the government has warned of another large-scale terror attack on American soil.

"You never know when these situations could hit," said Dr. FitzGerald, who ran the workshops. "But when they do, time is a factor and care is a factor in maximizing the amount of survivors. ... We want our physicians to be taught the skills that are needed."

The one-day sessions Saturday and Sunday included lectures and discussions on possible terrorist attacks, and small-group sessions practicing basic skills on dummies. Then they were put through mock scenarios such as nuclear terrorism or biological warfare.

The training is different from normal emergencies because there is a greater threat to physicians, a likelihood of mass casualties and the chance that the cause of the injuries would be unknown, Dr. FitzGerald said.

At a time when the United States remains at war on terrorism and weapons inspectors are heading back to Iraq, UC physicians are not the only ones increasing their preparations. In Tucson, Ariz., a three-day training exercise last week tested local and federal agencies' response to widespread assault. It also tested the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile's distribution of medication to the hundreds of volunteers who pretended to be victims of bioterrorism.

"It's a concern that I wouldn't know what to do," said Sarah Selickman, a second-year UC medical student from Madeira. "This is not something that there's a real focus on yet, so it's good to get more information when you can get it."

Students also learned about triage, and practiced sorting patients by the severity of their injuries or illness.

"Terrorism is on everyone's mind, and this is the medical students way of adapting to the current political situation," said first-year medical student Matthew Constantine, of Clifton, after bagging a "victim" to help him breathe. "These skills are great, but it's also given me an appreciation of what's happening in the field, because that's where the immediate response is."

E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com