Most MDs were trained, in some capacity, to handle victims of disasters. Some are drilled on a regular basis, but very few physicians are truly prepared for a major disaster that directly impacts them and/or their family while at home, in school, in their car, or in a clinic setting (at work). The lack of data in the literature very loudly supports this notion. There appears to be an unstated mindset among some physicians that their hospital will remain an oasis amidst the turmoil, and that they, as  physicians, will also be able to reach the hospital to help. Or, that they already know enough about preparedness. These ideas  are dead wrong. Just take my Community Emergency Response Team class. There are over 400,000 citizens (overwhelmingly non-medical) who are trained, serving over 3,000  communities. They are our community’s boots on the ground.