The Power of Cross-Disciplinary Teams for Developing First Responder Training in TBI

Misunderstanding of the symptoms of traumatic brain injury (TBI) often leaves first responders ill-equipped to handle encounters involving subjects with brain injury. This paper details a cross-disciplinary project to develop and disseminate a training curriculum designed to increase first responders’ knowledge of and skills with TBI survivors. The article aims to assist other professionals in understanding the process of working within a cross-disciplinary team to develop and disseminate a training curriculum. Lessons learned based on the development of such a curriculum for first responders working with persons with TBI will be valuable to training coordinators and serve as best practices for implementing similar training programs for specialized learner groups.