The tragedy that played out in an Aurora movie theater Friday was ironically paralleled as a classroom learning experience in a medical school in Parker the same day.

Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine is in the middle of holding specialized classes in disaster life support for 150 second-year medical students. Along with response to natural disasters like hurricanes and floods and terrorist attacks, one of the scenarios being used to train the students is how to respond if a shooter fires at people in a movie theater and also uses a bomb in the attack.

“The irony is amazing, just amazing,” said Rocky Vista Dean Dr. Bruce Dubin.

He said emergency specialist physicians from Parkland Hospital in Dallas as well as from several other emergency programs around the country are teaching the Advanced Disaster Life Support Training. Rocky Vista is the only medical school in the nation to make that training a part of the curriculum.

“They are trained to respond in every type of disaster,” Dubin said.

The shootings in Aurora were incorporated into the teaching Friday, Dubin said.

“It made these medical students very aware that these kinds of things can happen anywhere,” he said. “The events of this tragedy have helped to drive that home.”

Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957, nlofholm@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nlofholm