A practice of PBL training “communications in disaster” for premedical students with Twitter

In this study, I propose and practice the PBL (Problem Based Learning) contents to learn the difficulty of supporting disaster relief efforts, the importance of communication, and human networks. I conducted a PBL practice with Twitter for premedical students in the seminar. In this practice, I took the damage situation of the East Japan great earthquake and tsunami disaster into account and prepared for the scenario. Participant students played roles as individual doctors. The results of the practice were that it was not completed well. Some patients are not helped due to miscommunication. However, students are considered to learn much from this practice. By the questionnaire and the report, they express that they found it difficult to help at the disaster; they found it important to communicate. They also learned of the importance of human networks.