• Erkan Gunay, Murat Ersel, Justin A Yax, Johnathan M Sheele, Gunnur Karakurt, Kerim Acar, and Scott H Frank.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal T&R Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
• Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2020 Apr 1; 14 (2): 229-235.

ObjectivesEarthquakes, landslides, and floods are the most frequent natural disasters in Turkey. The country has also recently experienced an increased number of terrorist attacks. The purpose of this study is to understand the expectations and training of Turkish emergency medicine attending physicians in disaster medicine.MethodsAn online questionnaire was administered to the 937 members of the Emergency Medicine Association of Turkey, of which 191 completed the survey (20%).ResultsMost participants (68%) worked at a Training and Research Hospital (TRH) or a University Hospital (UH), and 69% had practiced as an attending for 5 years or less. Mass immigration, refugee problems, and war/terror attacks were considered to be the highest perceived risk topics. Most (95%) agreed that disaster medicine trainings should occur during residency training. Regular disaster drills and exercises and weekly or monthly trainings were the most preferred educational modalities. Most respondents (85%) were interested in advanced training in disaster medicine, and this was highest for those working less than 5 years as an attending. UH and TRH residency training programs were not considered in themselves to be sufficient for learning disaster medicine.ConclusionsTurkish emergency medicine residency training should include more disaster medicine education and training.

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