Emergency Preparedness Competencies Among Nurses
A nursing research study was recently completed to examine the relationships between professional emergency preparedness competence, personal preparation for a disaster and the likelihood of nurses reporting to work after a disaster.
Results indicated significant weaknesses in nurses’ professional emergency preparedness competence. However, positive correlations indicated that nurses are more likely to report to work during disasters when they have higher levels of self-reported personal preparedness and professional emergency preparedness competence.
Implications for nurse administrators include the need to assess nurses’ professional emergency preparedness competence, provide emergency preparedness education to team members or support nurses’ attendance at conferences where emergency preparedness education is being provided and encourage household emergency preparedness.
Information about free educational resources are included in the article. Nurse administrators can effect positive change in the correlation between professional competence and the likelihood nurses will report to work.
Now, more than ever, interventions to increase nurses’ knowledge and likelihood of reporting to work are critical to ensure adequate surge capacity to provide care in future events.
Tara Heagele, PhD, RN, EMT
Assistant Professor
Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing
Hunter College, The City University of New York
