National Disaster Life Support™ Program
Important information about the National Disaster Life Support Program (NDLS™) transition to the National Disaster Life Support Foundation, Inc.
AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for NDLS courses during the transition
In 2003, the American Medical Association (AMA), in cooperation with four major medical centers and three national health organizations, established the National Disaster Life Support (NDLS™) education training program to better prepare health care professionals and emergency response personnel for mass casualty events. The overarching goal is to standardize emergency response training nationwide and strengthen our nation's public health system.
The NDLS courses stress a comprehensive all-hazards approach to help physicians and other health professionals deal with catastrophic emergencies from terrorist acts as well as from explosions, fires, natural disasters (such as hurricanes and floods), and infectious diseases, which are much more likely to occur.
In large-scale mass casualty events, physicians and other health care workers must be knowledgeable of the need for efficient coordination among local, state, and federal emergency response efforts; how to protect themselves and others from further harm; how to communicate effectively with other emergency personnel and the media; and how to address the unique psychological impacts and related social chaos that may ensue. By completing these courses, clinicians will better understand their integrated roles in the broader disaster response system.
For more information on the NDLS Program please send an e-mail to disaster.preparedness@ama-assn.org
Core Disaster Life Support® (CDLS®) version 3.0 course
The CDLS v.3.0 course is a competency-based, awareness-level course that introduces clinical and public health concepts and principles for the management of disasters and public health emergencies. The course incorporates the "all-hazards" approach to personal, institutional, and community disaster management through the use of two unique mnemonics, the PRE-DISASTER Paradigm™ (which applies to event mitigation and preparedness) and the DISASTER Paradigm™ (which applies to event recognition, response, and recovery). The overarching aim of the CDLS course is to provide participants from diverse professions, disciplines, and backgrounds with a common lexicon, vocabulary, and knowledge in disaster-related medicine and public health.
The American Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The American Medical Association designates this live activity for a maximum of 3.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Basic Disaster Life Support™ (BDLS®) course
The BDLS course is a competency-based, awareness-level course that introduces concepts and principles to prepare health professionals for the management of injuries and illnesses caused by disasters and public health emergencies. The aim is to improve the coordination of response in disasters and other public health emergencies by developing a common approach and language among multiple disciplines in the health care community. This course targets emergency medical service personnel, hazardous materials personnel, public health personnel and other health care professionals simultaneously and offers a review of natural disasters, traumatic and explosive events, nuclear and radiological events, biological events and chemical events. Information on the health care professional's role in public health and incident management systems, community mental health and special needs of underserved and vulnerable populations is also included in the BDLS course.
The American Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The American Medical Association designates this live activity for a maximum of 7.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Advanced Disaster Life Support™ (ADLS®) version 3.0 course
The ADLS v.3.0 course is an intense two-day course that allows participants to demonstrate competencies in mass casualty management. Core education elements include the ADLS v.3.0 manual and five interactive lectures (Disasters and Public Health Emergencies; Triage in Disasters and Public Health Emergencies; Health System Surge Capacity for Disasters and Public Health Emergencies; Community Health Emergency Operations and Response; and Legal and Ethical Issues in Disasters). Essential training components include population scenarios discussion; mass casualty triage tabletop and situational training exercises; surge tabletop scenario for a health care facility; personal protective equipment skills performance and decontamination video review; casualty management in small groups with simulated scenarios; and emergency operations center situational training exercise. ADLS requires learners to apply knowledge learned in the Core Disaster Life Support® and Basic Disaster Life Support™ courses.
The American Medical Association designates this live activity for a maximum of 15.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Locate a National Disaster Life Support course near you.
National Disaster Life Support Education Consortium™ (NDLSEC™)
The NDLSEC is a community of health professionals dedicated to formalized, life-long learning in disaster medicine and public health preparedness.
