Training for health crises makes us better prepared

But preparedness is also about us as individuals. We are the ones who must act when something happens.

Hedvig Glans recently returned from the course Outbreak response scenario training. It is an international training program aimed at preparing experts who may be deployed when infectious disease outbreaks occur somewhere in the world. The course is organized by ECDC and the European Health Task Force (EUHTF), in collaboration with the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN).

The training does not focus on medical management, as one might expect, but rather on preparing participants for what it’s like to be on assignment and how to handle various situations that may arise. Once deployed, you must quickly start working in a team with people you've never met before – individuals with different backgrounds, working styles, and cultures – and deliver results. So how do you do that under pressure?

By practicing in various fictional but realistic scenarios and then reflecting together, participants gained insight into both their own and others’ reactions, and gradually replaced them with more constructive ways of acting.

“It was interesting to see how we all behaved during the scenario exercises. I especially noticed that we initially completely forgot basic courtesy. Normally, you would always introduce yourself when entering a room, but we suddenly skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the task. That would never work – trust and personal relationships are crucial for any collaboration. Becoming aware that this is how one might react under pressure was very useful,” says Hedvig Glans.