Paper
Saturday, November 3, 2007

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This presentation is part of : Innovations in Nursing Education
Emergency and Disaster Preparedness in a Baccalaureate Curriculum
Janice S. Smith, PhD, RN, Division of Nursing, Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA, USA
Learning Objective #1: identify the importance of integrating basic knowledge of emergency and disaster preparedness into a nursing curriculum.
Learning Objective #2: identify the core competencies for the registerd nurse as defined by the International Nursing Coalition for Mass Casualty Education.
In a constantly changing world with threats of terrorism, natural and man-made disasters, and the possibility of pandemics, there is an increasing likelihood that nurses in all specialty areas would be called to action in the case of such a disaster. Nurses make up the largest portion of the health care workforce in the United States and disaster nursing knowledge is becoming increasingly important to practice. What was once thought to apply only to nurses in emergency departments or to those in community areas such as the Red Cross and public health agencies will now require the expertise nurses in all specialty areas. Every nurse would have a role in a disaster. Nurses would be on the front lines.

The International Nursing Coalition for Mass Casualty Education developed educational competencies for nursing responding to mass casualty events that define minimum levels of knowledge and skills needed to respond to a mass casualty event.

As a result of our changing world and the importance of the nurse’s knowledge base related to disaster nursing and management, nursing curriculums must to integrate disaster nursing content into programs. This content can be added to the senior level of a baccalaureate curriculum and taught in tandem with the community course and curriculum. It is also possible to partner with the American Red Cross and other community agencies such as police, fire and rescue, and public health leaders to educate students in disaster preparedness and management. Additionally, as part of course requirements, students can take online courses with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) such as the National Incident Command System (NIMS). Nurses will be called to action should a disaster occur. It is essential that students be provided the knowledge of disaster nursing that will prepare them in their various fields of clinical practice.

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