Mass casualty incident (MCI) management was usually taught by lectures and then tested by exercises. However, the lecture may not be interesting and tabletop exercise (TTx) may not adequately engage participants, especially senior medical students. To solve these two problems, we think that a TTx using 3D models can be a good teaching method of MCI management for medical students.

A TTx of MCI in the emergency room (ER) was designed for senior medical students based on five core capabilities of MCI management: incident management system, event recognition and initiation of response, patient triage, surge capacity and capability, and recovery and demobilization. 3D models containing miniatures of the ER, hospital staff, patients, and other personnel were used in the TTx. No lecture was conducted before or during the exercise. Students needed to discuss how to respond to events in the incident and show their responses using the 3D models, and the instructor facilitated the discussion and gave feedback right after the students’ decision.

Knowledge of each core capability was tested by four multiple-choice questions. The interest in learning disaster medicine and willingness to participate in MCI management were evaluated by questionnaire, along with quantitative feedback to the exercise. The same test and questionnaire were conducted before and after the TTx.

From September 2018 to May 2022, 326 students completed both pre- and post-exercise evaluations. The test scores of all five core capabilities, levels of interest, and willingness increased significantly after the exercise. Students thought the exercise was interesting and a good learning tool. Most students wanted to be notified of further training.

A tabletop exercise using 3D models is an effective way to teach senior medical students MCI management and disaster medicine while increasing their interest in learning and willingness to participate.