A recent national assessment of emergency planning in Canada suggests that healthcare professionals are not properly prepared for disasters. In response to this gap, an interprofessional course in disaster management was developed, implemented, and evaluated in Toronto from 2007 to 2008. Undergraduate students in nursing, medicine, paramedicine, police, media, and health administration programs from Centennial College, the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences, George Brown College, Ryerson University, and the University of Toronto, took the eight-week online course. Curriculum developers set interprofessional competency as a major course outcome right from the start, and this concept guided content and activity development. The course was highly interactive and included video, a discussion forum, an online board game, and the opportunity to participate in a mock disaster simulation with professional staff.

A research study, funded by Health Canada, was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the impact of the course on students' disaster management competencies and interprofessional attitudes.

Results indicate that the online course and simulation exercise provided an excellent opportunity for undergraduate students to learn and practice inter-professional collaboration, develop disaster management skills, and develop empathy for victims.

Results underscore the necessity of extensive inter-institutional collaboration regarding simulation planning, curriculum development, and faculty training. The session should be of interest to emergency and disaster educators, heakhcare professionals, policy-makers, and researchers.