Pediatric Disaster Medicine Curriculum: Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs and Disasters

Disasters can severely disrupt the care of children and youth with special healthcare needs (CYSHCN), especially those with medical complexities (CMC). This module explores the impact of disasters on these populations and defines your role as a pediatric provider across all phases of the disaster cycle.  Through interactive case scenarios, you’ll practice triaging medically and behaviorally complex patients in both clinic and hospital settings - ensuring continuity of care when it’s needed most. 

Take the module on PPN Learn, and claim credit here. 

Target Audience

  • Nurses
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physicians
  • Physician Assistants
  • Psychologists
  • EMTs

Learning Objectives

  • Define children and youth with special healthcare needs (CYSHCN) and the subset, children with medical complexities (CMC) within the context of the potential impact of disasters.
  • Identify your role and responsibilities as a pediatric provider through all phases of the disaster cycle, and an ideal method of communicating that role to CYSHCN families.
  • Describe the team-based approach and list stakeholders that you can access to help families with disaster preparedness efforts, including the assembly of disaster kits and emergency information forms.
  • Identify methods to prevent interruption of healthcare services for these high-risk patients during a disaster, ensuring the ability to continue to manage hospital and/or clinic-based patients.
  • Practice triaging an example panel of patients with medical complexity during a disaster scenario in both clinic and hospital settings.
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 0.75 ABP Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment
    Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the activity and individual assessment of and feedback to the learner, enables the learner to earn up to 0.75 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics' (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit learner completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABP MOC credit.
  • 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
    Children's National Hospital designates this Enduring activity for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
  • 0.75 ANCC
    Children's National Hospital will provide 0.75 Nursing Contact Hours for this Enduring activity.
  • 0.75 Participation
    Successful completion of this continuing education activity.
Course opens: 
01/27/2026
Course expires: 
01/27/2029
Part of: 
Pediatric Disaster Medicine Curriculum

Joint Accreditation Statement

In support of improving patient care, Children’s National Hospital is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. Children’s National Hospital Accreditation Provider# 4008362

Credit Designation Statements

Physicians: Children’s National Hospital designates this live activity for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM for physicians. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nurses: Children’s National Hospital designates this activity for a maximum of 0.75 LIVE ANCC contact hours.

ABP MOC: Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the learner to earn 0.75 MOC point in the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit learner completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABP MOC credit.

Disclosure of Conflict of Interest

The planning committee and presenters have no identified conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgement of Financial Commercial Support

No financial commercial support was received for this educational activity.

Acknowledgement of In-Kind Commercial Support

No in-kind commercial support was received for this educational activity.

Available Credit

  • 0.75 ABP Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment
    Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the activity and individual assessment of and feedback to the learner, enables the learner to earn up to 0.75 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics' (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit learner completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABP MOC credit.
  • 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
    Children's National Hospital designates this Enduring activity for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
  • 0.75 ANCC
    Children's National Hospital will provide 0.75 Nursing Contact Hours for this Enduring activity.
  • 0.75 Participation
    Successful completion of this continuing education activity.
Please login or register to take this course.

Prerequisite Required:
Please proceed only if you have completed Pediatric Disaster Medicine Curriculum: Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs and Disasters on PPN Learn.
During that session, you will receive a required attendance code needed to continue and claim CE credit here.