Education of graduate students in international disaster relief (IDR) is important. The authors introduced this practical education in Saga University in Japan.

The authors performed a mass casualty disaster exercise involving the simulated IDR from 06 October to 08 December 2008 (every Monday, for two hours/week, for a total of 12 hours). The exercise was designed to simulate the medical relief operation of the Indian Ocean tsunami that occurred in December 2004. Logistical functions also were involved. Thirteen students participated the exercise, and they were assigned to one of two groups. Each group included one Indonesian doctor who was a PhD candidate, while die remaining students were achieving a Masters in nursing. The official language used during the exercise was English. This study reports on the experience and evaluation of the students.

More than 90% of the students answered that this exercise was very instructive and interesting. They rated the simulation exercise very favorably and believed that the knowledge gained through the exercise would be beneficial in the near future.

This kind of practical education is valuable in disaster medicine and disaster nursing training for graduate students in Japan.