Course Description:

The requirements for a vastly expanded supply of energy worldwide combined with nuclear proliferation and a more aggressive international posture for the development, deployment and potential use of nuclear weapons either for strategic or tactical purposes has created an environment for public health professionals in the 21st century thoroughly different than that which has ever existed in the course of human scientific and political evolution. In due course, recent energy initiatives fostering expansion of nuclear power production in the US as well as recent evolutions in international weapons development and their emerging strategic implications contribute to the conclusion that the ability of communities, regions, and states to react effectively to the challenges of high dose radiation exposure have become a necessary and inescapable element in the mandatory portfolio of capabilities of which today and tomorrow’s communities must dispose. This broadcast will address some of the principal challenges in doctrine, operational models, personnel, training and community preparedness which will become critical elements in Public Health Planning for the 21st Century. This course will address models of response, requirements for effective intervention, planning and preparation, personnel roles, training and command & control. Ideally this course provides the didactic introduction to a broader awareness of community needs and leads to workshops, drills and exercises in achieving community capability while reinforcing state and regional preparation for planning and support.