Abstract: Objective To investigate on current situation of disaster medicine courses among medical schools in China and perception of disaster management among medical students. Methods The survey was conducted among medical students from 14 medical schools in China. A self-filled questionnaire, which included self-evaluation of ability to practice disaster management, status of disaster medicine courses and self-interest in learning disaster management, was used for data collection. Results The survey showed that only a few of medical schools offered disaster medicine courses and the quality of current courses was not satisfying. Medical students were generally lack of systematic perception of disaster management, but they were interested in studying related knowledge. Conclusions It is necessary to design disaster medicine courses of high quality and promote them among medical schools in China. It can not only meet the requirements of medical students, but also effectively improve the response capacity of medical students and doctors when facing catastrophes.

Key words: medical students, disaster management, medical education, course design