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Department of Veterans Affairs and the Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System (DEMPS) Program: Virtual World Training System

Dr. Bob Smith, EdD

DEMPS National Program Manager

VHA Office of Emergency Management

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Background: DEMPS Program

• Provides VA volunteers to render healthcare and assistance in a disaster

• Volunteers are deployed either under a Stafford Act Declaration (Federal Disaster) or an emergency or disaster within the VA

• +8,600 volunteers• Drawn from throughout

US, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Philippines

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Performance Requirements

Pre-Deployment Deployment Post Deployment

Readiness: • Personal• Family • Professional

• Respond• Mobilize• Transit• Check-in• Operations• Safety, Security & Health

• Demobilize • Recovery

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Training Gaps

• Train volunteers in specific competencies and application of professional skills (MD, RN, Social Worker) for a disaster for the DEMPS deployment continuum

• Limited participation in Field Exercise due to cost, personnel availability

• No ability to practice mission roles other than field exercise, individually and as a team member

Web 1.0

Web-based Instruction

• Competency Study• Content

Development• VE Exploration

Phase I Phase IIPart 1

Phase IIPart 2

Web 2.0Virtual Environment (VE)/Virtual World (VW)

Feasibility Study

Apprentice Level

Scenario Events

• Training Requirements

• Platform Evaluation

• Idea Generation• Level 1 Scenario Design• Level 1 Scenario

Segments

• Idea Generation• Level 1 &2 Scenarios• Facilitator & Observer

Guides

• Level 1 & 2 Scenarios Events

• Instructor/Observer Guides

• Evaluation Tool Requirements

Task Break Out: Phase I and II

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Phase II Efforts

• Review of literature• Selected competencies• SME Workshop and Story collection• Live exercise observation• Storyboarding• Prototype

Variety of settings corresponding to the mission

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Road Ahead: Phase III

• Develop• Implement• Evaluate