NEW! Disaster Preparedness television series presented by the California Preparedness Education Network and the California AHEC.

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UC Television Disaster Series

The California Preparedness Education Network (cal-PEN) is a statewide continuing education program that addresses gaps in preparedness education for healthcare providers caring for the state’s most vulnerable populations.

cal-PEN delivers one-hour educational modules on the topic of “Bioterrorism and Other Public Health Emergency Preparedness.” A network of faculty conducts trainings throughout the state including family physician faculty from family medicine residency training programs, pharmacists from the California Poison Control System, first responders, public health nurses and others.

Educational content for the six modules was developed by a team of educators who reviewed existing state educational activities, Department of Defense training tools, and other curriculum resources. The curriculum was also informed by a needs-assessment conducted by local AHEC centers with a sample of target learners. Free category one continuing medical education credits are available through the American Academy of Family Physicians.

CalPEN teaches health professionals to recognize the indications of a terrorist event or other public health emergency and how to respond appropriately. Health professionals are trained to

 

  • Identify a bioterrorist event or other public health emergency
  • Meet acute care needs of victims, including pediatric and other vulnerable populations
  • Alert the public health system at a local, state and national level for a coordinated response
  • Participate in a coordinated, multidisciplinary response to an event. (NIMS)

 

In addition to the face-to-face trainings, cal-PEN offers synchronous and web-archived trainings education through University of California Television (UCTV). One hour modules have been recorded and are available throughout North America within the Med Ed Hour schedule via satellite downlink, cable systems broadcast and web cast. Free level one continuing medical education credits are available through UC Davis School of Medicine for distance learners. The modules are archived for asynchronous viewing throughout California and the nation and can be downloaded to computers and IPOD.

CalPEN is a project of the California Area Health Education Center (AHEC), funded by HRSA grant T01HP01405.