FHS students participate in food poisoning/outbreak management experiential learning exercise
Large-scale public health emergencies and disasters remain a major public health challenge. Public health authorities must plan for and respond appropriately to these challenges.
On February 29, students in the university’s Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) and Health Sciences ( specialization) programs worked together to develop disaster-management skills during an experiential learning exercise.
Disaster scenario
The exercise simulated the aftermath of a disaster such as a flood or a forest fire that requires the evacuation of a large number of people to a community centre for temporary housing. Three days after being sheltered, a secondary major disaster arises when many of the sheltered individuals begin to display signs and symptoms of food poisoning.
Learning outcomes
- MLS students: Process lab specimens, identify the possible source of the outbreak and communicate findings to the appropriate medical authorities.
- Public Health students: Assess the extent of the outbreak and possible causes, and communicate lab report findings through a public health alert and media release.
The students worked together to identify possible sources of contaminations and determine who is at risk. They also strategized ways to prevent and better manage similar future outbreaks.
This exercise reinforced the importance of engaging in interdisciplinary communication and teamwork, which can be applied to many types of outbreaks in the community, whether that be food poisoning, measles or COVID-19. All students who completed the exercise received certificates of participation.
Several Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) members volunteered their time to plan for this event:
- Wally Bartfay, PhD, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies; Director, Bachelor of Health Science and Bachelor of Allied Health Science Programs; and Associate Professor
- Bernadette Murphy, PhD, Interim Dean and Professor
- Helene-Marie Goulding, Associate Teaching Professor
- JoAnne Arcand, PhD, Assistant Professor
- Caroline Barakat, PhD, Assistant Professor
- Winnie Sun, PhD, Assistant Professor
- Nooshin Rotondi, PhD, Assistant Teaching Professor
- Courtney Cross, Limited-Term Academic Associate
