GSA Crisis Response and Intervention Education Resource (GSA-CRIER)

At the 2002 GSA/MAS/OSR National Spring Meeting in Palm Springs, CA, members of the GSA National Committee on Student Affairs (COSA) conducted a session entitled "Coping in Crisis: 911." Several resources describing crisis response management were distributed to session attendees. Content areas included understanding the nature of crisis situations and procedures for responding to medical emergencies, bomb threats, death and suicide attempts. Resources also included information about symptoms of stress reaction and counseling strategies for identifying and referring students in difficulty. Subsequently, COSA received requests from GSA constituents for additional information about policies and procedures regarding crisis management. In response, COSA, with support from the AAMC, is creating a Web-based resource where GSA representatives can view sample procedures/policies that are relevant to particular content areas. Ultimately, the goal is to provide GSA representatives with a resource that offers "best practices" or "do's and don'ts" (based on constituents' experiences) and templates that schools could use or adapt to their specific institutional needs. COSA also hopes to develop a contact list of individuals with experience and/or expertise in crisis situations who would be willing to serve as resources to other GSA representatives.

COSA is soliciting your help in developing this Web-based resource. You will find a table of contents (PDF - 2 pages, 58 KB) with policies, procedures, and counseling resources borrowed from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine (PDF - 4 pages, 100KB), the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (PDF - 26 pages, 443KB), and the University of Toronto. Additional sites include the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and the University of Minnesota Medical School-Minneapolis. Please review the content areas and resources on the GSA Web page and provide feedback via cosa@aamc.org and/or contribute your policies, procedures and helpful insights/experiences to appropriate content areas. COSA and the Section for Student Affairs and Programs staff will review feedback in July. Information will then be incorporated into the resource on the GSA Web page in late August. The proposed GSA Crisis Response and Intervention Resource (GSA-CRIER) can be an invaluable tool in planning for crisis management and student counseling. Thank you in advance for your participation and support.