Name Batican,Kryza Dale B.Date Published May 21, 2015Published By Laura A. Stokowski, RN,Source http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/579888

Ready, Willing, and Able: Preparing Nurses to Respond to Disasters

Editor's Note: Disasters continue to occur with regularity, as we learned from the recent 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal, followed within 2 weeks by another major quake. Many nurses would love to have the opportunity to pack a bag and fly to the middle of the action to help out, but don't know where to start. We have updated this article with the latest information from the primary organizers of disaster relief medical assistance. All your questions, from licensure to malpractice insurance, are answered here. Nurses who just want to be better prepared if disaster comes to their own doorsteps will also find the information and resources they need. Aid for NepalOne of the most significant ways that you can help during a disaster is to donate money to an aid organization. To help the victims of the earthquake in Nepal, consider donating to one of the agencies in the . It's not too late to help.

Table. Humanitarian Aid Agencies Requesting Donations for NepalActionAid Action Against Hunger Adventist Development and Relief Agency Airlink (can donate airline miles as well) All Hands Volunteers AmeriCares American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee American Red Cross Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team (AMURT) CARE USA Concern Worldwide Catholic Relief Services Convoy of Hope Direct Relief Doctors of the World Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières GOAL Global Global Giving Habitat for Humanity Heart to Heart International Handicap International Heifer International HelpAge USA International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies International Medical Corps Islamic Relief USA Lutheran World Relief Medair Mercy Corps Mennonite Central Committee Oxfam America Plan USA

Plan International ReSurge International Samaritan's Purse Save the Children UNICEF World Concern World Food Programme USA World Neighbors World Vision

Disaster News at Our Fingertips

Social media have rewritten the disaster response playbook.[1] The days when the news about an ongoing disaster was censored and doled out by official government sources are long gone. Americans are looking to Facebook, Twitter, and other networking sites to get up-to-the minute information after a disaster. Not only is the flow of information fast-paced, but the lines of communication are bidirectional. In other words, healthcare professionals can both hear from people close to the disaster about what is happening on the ground, as well as interact, ask questions, offer assistance, and myriad other possibilities.

Crowdsourcing is often used to harness the power of thousands of individuals to locate disaster victims. When emergency response communication systems are overwhelmed, those involved in a disaster often turn to Twitter to try to find help.[2] Those seeking help can also post photographs or videos, and these visuals can have a strong impact on the social media audience.

The downside to all of this, however, is that false information and rumors can be perpetuated just as swiftly. Imposters and scam artists can appeal for donations from well-meaning social media users who have a strong urge to contribute in the aftermath of a disaster.[1] And on Twitter, in particular, unless the tweet comes from a reliable, identifiable source (such as a well-known relief agency), it can be difficult to determine where the information is coming from and whether it's accurate.

Social media appeals for volunteers ("voluntweeters") to travel to the site of a disaster should be regarded with caution, and before impulsively jumping into your car or making a plane reservation, it would be wise to seek corroboration of the validity of these requests through other channels. Finally, announcing to the universe that you are leaving your home for days or weeks to offer aid at the site of a disaster is not prudent. Social media are valuable, even potentially lifesaving, communication tools during disasters, but they must be used thoughtfully, bearing in mind the principles of volunteering during disasters that are outlined below.

Nurses Want to Help

After a few years, most nurses will develop a certain level of comfort in their chosen field of practice. Our work may be more or less predictable, and we are confident in our ability to cope with whatever comes through the door. But are we just as competent when we move outside the walls of our comfortable work environment?

How many nurses, jumping into the middle of a disaster or mass casualty event, would be more boon than burden? Despite a desire to help, how many nurses would have a clue about how to triage patients exposed to a nuclear explosion or recognize the differences between pneumonic plague and anthrax exposure? Does the occasional hospital-based disaster drill sufficiently prepare nurses to know how to decontaminate patients exposed to radioactive material when the water supply fails? If you learned about emergency preparedness and disaster response in nursing school, you are among the lucky few.

Regrettably, recent events, including hurricanes and terrorist attacks, have exposed how inadequately prepared we are to manage disaster, be it caused by nature or by man. If there is a silver lining, it is that many people, including nurses, are now dedicated to upgrading our responses to natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes; large-scale accidents; and chemical, biological, radiologic, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) events. The question is not whether natural or manmade disasters will happen again, but when, and whether we will be prepared to manage them.[3]

Our nation's 3.1 million nurses are on the front line in every phase of caring for victims of disaster. Providing nursing care at such a time is not easy. Nurses in the field may face uncontrolled physical environments, scarce human and material resources, and even personal risk.[4] Although this may be part of the appeal for some volunteers, these uncertainties highlight the importance of organized response systems.

On September 11, 2001, thousands of nurses called anyone they could reach in New York City to volunteer their services to help the victims of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.[5] No doubt many more wished they could be in lower Manhattan helping victims, rather than simply watching events unfold on television. If 9/11 had happened during the social media age, thousands of healthcare volunteers could have been recruited at lightning speed. But would it have been a good idea?

No. Experts say the most important message for health professionals who wish to volunteer to help in the wake of a disaster is that they should never deploy outside of an organized response system. Health professionals, including nurses, who just show up at an accident or disaster site (called "spontaneous" or "unaffiliated" volunteers) are unknown to command and control personnel and cannot be used to their full potential.[4] Those in charge of relief efforts won't know who you are, what your abilities and educational background are, or even whether your license is valid. There is no on-site procedure for validating your professional status. In some cases, it merely creates more work for those leading the response operation to deal with spontaneous volunteers. And although it seems hard to believe, about 10% of the people who show up spontaneously at the site of a disaster claiming to be nurses are not what they claim to be.

Organized response registries for healthcare professionals exist at both the state and federal levels. Advance registration with one of these response systems is essential to receive the appropriate training and to learn how to be safe in the aftermath of a disaster.[4] Available organizations include the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) and the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) include the American Red Cross, the International Medical Corps, and Team Rubicon.

To help you decide which system is best for you, ask yourself these questions:

•Do you want to be ready to go at a moment's notice, anywhere you are needed?

•Would you prefer to serve in your local community?

•Do you have the financial ability to get by without your regular pay while you are deployed?

•Do you have a family plan so that your family can manage without you while you are deployed?

•Have you talked with your employer, and is your potential volunteer work supported by your employer?

With your answers in mind, take a look at these disaster response organizations and determine which is best suited to your interests and lifestyle. Individuals should avoid registering through more than one system.[4] Contact information for each of these systems can be found at the end of this article.

National Disaster Medical System

If you want to have your bag packed and be ready to go anywhere in the United States when a disaster strikes, one of your best bets is the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). The NDMS uses disaster management assistance teams (DMATs) made up of professional and paraprofessional medical personnel to provide medical care in the event of a disaster or other emergency. These teams support the federal medical response to natural or manmade disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, transportation accidents, and terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruction.

A DMAT is a multidisciplinary rapid-response element that supplements local medical care until other resources can be mobilized or the situation is resolved. DMAT members deploy to disaster sites with enough supplies and equipment to sustain themselves for 72 hours while providing medical care to victims. Personnel are activated for 2 weeks, during which time they receive pay as part-time federal employees. Responsibilities might include triaging patients, providing care in adverse or austere environments, and preparing patients for evacuation. DMAT members are required to maintain appropriate certifications and licensure within their discipline and receive training to prepare them for deployment. When disaster victims are evacuated to a different locale, DMATs could be activated to support patient reception and disposition to local hospitals.

When members are activated as federal employees, their licenses and certification are recognized by all states. In addition, DMAT members are classified as intermittent federal employees when deployed under NDMS and are therefore covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act when functioning as federal employees. DMAT members are protected when activated to respond to a public health emergency or when participating in exercises and official training. DMAT members also have reemployment rights under provisions of chapter 43, title 38 of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

The NDMS recruits personnel for specific vacancies, plans for training opportunities, and coordinates the deployment of the teams. Interested individuals must contact a team within their geographic area to ascertain whether a position is available and whether they have the education, training, and experience needed for that particular position.

To find out about requirements and available positions on DMATs, visit the NDMS recruitment website.

The American Red Cross

The American Red Cross responds to more than 70,000 emergencies every year, including fires, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, mass transit accidents, hazardous spills, and explosions. Although not a government agency, the Red Cross operates under a congressional charter to carry out its relief efforts, providing shelter, food, and physical and mental health services to those in need.

Nurses have a long history with the Red Cross. Red Cross nurses were caring for victims of floods and epidemics in the 19th century, long before the establishment of the Red Cross

Nursing Services in 1909. Today, more than 20,000 nurses are involved in paid and volunteer capacities with the American Red Cross.

Nurses who volunteer as disaster responders take action after a disaster of any size to alleviate human suffering and are affiliated with their community Red Cross chapters. Every Red Cross chapter is different in terms of the geographic area covered and the types of local disasters most often encountered. All nurses who volunteer with the Red Cross must attend training courses.

There is no required commitment in terms of hours for Red Cross volunteers. Small chapters might respond to only 15 or so disasters per year, whereas chapters that cover larger regions or areas might respond to many more disasters.

Learn more about becoming a nurse volunteer with the Red Cross here. Find your local chapter and search for volunteer opportunities here.

The Medical Reserve Corps

Major emergencies can overwhelm the capabilities of first responders, particularly during the first 12-72 hours. Medical volunteers provide important "surge" capacity during this critical period and augment medical staff shortages at local medical and emergency facilities. Communities often need medically trained individuals to fill in the gaps in their emergency response plans and improve their response capabilities. The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) brings these individuals together in cohesive teams.

The mission of the MRC is to improve the health and safety of communities across the country by organizing healthcare professional volunteers who want to donate their time and expertise to respond to emergencies and promote healthy living throughout the year. The Division of Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps is headquartered in the Office of the US Surgeon General. The MRC is a specialized component of Citizen Corps, a national network of volunteers dedicated to ensuring hometown security. Communities benefit from having MRC volunteers ready to respond to emergencies.

The purpose of the MRC is to preidentify, train, and organize volunteer medical, nursing, and public health professionals to render services in conjunction with existing local emergency response programs. MRC units are community-based; at present, there are more than 1000 MRC units across the nation, with more than 200,000 volunteers.

The MRC strengthens communities by bringing together practicing and retired physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians, and epidemiologists who are eager to volunteer to address their community's ongoing public health needs and to help their communities during large-scale emergency situations. MRC volunteers may offer their expertise throughout the year as well as during local emergencies and other times of community need. MRC volunteers work in coordination with existing local emergency response programs and supplement existing community public health initiatives, such as outreach and prevention, immunization programs, blood drives, case management, care planning, and other efforts.

Local community leaders develop their own MRC units and identify the duties of the MRC volunteers according to specific community needs. For example, MRC volunteers may deliver necessary public health services during a crisis, assist emergency response teams with patients, and provide care directly to persons with less serious injuries and other health-related issues.

MRC volunteers can also choose to support communities in need beyond their local regions. After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, MRC volunteers helped communities by filling in at local hospitals and providing first aid to those injured by the storms. During this 2-month period,

more than 30 MRC units worked as part of the relief efforts.

Although a primary role of MRC volunteers is to respond to disasters and emergencies, part of the MRC's mission is to foster disaster preparedness. MRC volunteers can also be called to help during nonemergency times to strengthen the overall health of Americans by participating in public health initiatives, such as influenza vaccination clinics and diabetes detection programs.

MRC volunteers do not have to be available all the time. Some volunteers may only be interested in making a minimal commitment during times of crisis or for other specific community needs. These preferences are respected, given that they can be accommodated by the MRC unit's mission and work plan.

Practicing, retired, or otherwise employed nurses can join an MRC team. The first step in becoming an MRC volunteer is to locate the MRC unit closest to you. An interactive map can help find your local MRC unit. If your community lacks an MRC team, you can start one; information is available here.

International Medical Corps

International Medical Corps (IMC) is a nonprofit, global humanitarian healthcare organization founded in 1984 that brings services, training, and programs to those most in need around the world. With the maxim that "speed saves lives," IMC's international emergency response teams deploy rapidly in the wake of a disaster to begin their lifesaving work within hours, even in the most challenging environments. When catastrophe strikes, IMC is among the first humanitarian aid organizations on the scene—providing rapid and effective aid that saves lives and reduces suffering. IMC stays on long past the acute phase to promote self-reliance among the local community so that residents are better able to respond should disaster strike again.

Nurse volunteers on the IMC's emergency response teams are members of a stand-by roster who may be called to deploy within 72 hours when IMC responds to an emergency. Nurses who are interested in the position of "emergency nurse volunteer" with IMC can indicate their interest by submitting a profile to the IMC applicant tracking system. Visit the IMC Careers page to search for openings in the organization or to apply.

The duties of an IMC nurse volunteer are broad, and include (among others) such activities as providing direct patient care, supervising healthcare delivery and ward management, managing drug supplies, teaching sanitation and public health, and preventing sexual exploitation and abuse. The required qualifications include a clinical nursing degree (master's degree in public health preferred), experience in overseas programs (primary healthcare, communicable diseases, maternal and child health, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS), a minimum of 3 years of clinical experience (with at least 1 year in a developing country or resource-deprived environment), and previous NGO experience. Nurse volunteers must have excellent communication skills and the ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions independently, be extremely flexible and able to cope with stressful situations, be able to relate to and motivate local staff, work creatively with limited resources, and speak English fluently.

Team Rubicon

Do you love the idea of being first on the scene after a disaster strikes? Consider joining Team Rubicon. Team Rubicon (named for the "point of no return" when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and marched on Rome) is an American NGO founded in 2010 by retired US Marines William McNulty and Jacob Wood.

Team Rubicon's mission is to unite the skills and experiences of military veterans with civilian first responders and rapidly deploy emergency response teams wherever a disaster hits. Team Rubicon's first mission was to Haiti, when a team arrived 3 days after the earthquake in 2010. Team Rubicon applies the skills cultivated from their veteran members' battlefield experiences—emergency medicine, risk assessment and mitigation, teamwork, and decisive leadership—to disaster zones.

Since the Haiti earthquake, Team Rubicon has deployed on international operations in Pakistan, Chile, Burma, Sudan, and Turkey, and to domestic sites ravaged by tornadoes and hurricanes, where they provide humanitarian assistance and "bridge the gap" by providing relief in the immediate aftermath of a disaster until conventional aid organizations are mobilized. This gap is a critical window of time when injured and displaced victims are often without any aid before the arrival of conventional relief agencies.

Team Rubicon is organized along the Federal Emergency Management Agency model into 10 regions. Both military veterans and qualified civilian healthcare professionals can volunteer at Team Rubicon's Join the Team page. You can also support Team Rubicon's mission financially by donating funds or conducting fundraising, or becoming a "Street Team" volunteer and helping to get the word out about Team Rubicon. Find out more about these opportunities here.

Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals

Healthcare surge capacity during a wide-scale emergency or disaster is vital but cannot be effectively achieved with an influx of unaffiliated volunteers, however many well-intentioned healthcare professionals show up to help. The goal of the Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP) is to build a workforce surge capacity that is licensed, credentialed, and trained to respond. Advanced registration, credentialing, and training protects both patients and volunteers and allows more rapid mobilization of volunteers when they are needed.

Although funded by a federal grant under the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the ESAR-VHP is a state-based registry of volunteer health professionals. Each state is responsible for developing and maintaining its own ESAR-VHP program, including relevant rules and regulations.

All nurses (registered nurses, licensed practical/vocational nurses, nurse practitioners, certified nurse anesthetists, certified nurse-midwives, and clinical nurse specialists) are eligible to register through the ESAR-VHP. Registering does not obligate you to volunteer in the event of an emergency. The registration process stores your credentials and ensures that they are current and verified in advance to assist those in need when you are ready to volunteer. There is no registration fee, and you can withdraw your registration at any time.

To make the most effective use of health professionals who may have varying levels of clinical competency, the ESAR-VHP program has developed a uniform process for classifying and assigning volunteers into one of four credential levels, on the basis of credentials provided and verified:

•Level 1: volunteers who are clinically active in a hospital, either as an employee or by having hospital privileges;

•Level 2: volunteers who are clinically active in a wide variety of settings, such as clinics, nursing homes, and shelters;

•Level 3: volunteers who meet the basic qualifications necessary to practice in the state in which they are registered; and

•Level 4: volunteers who have healthcare experience or education that would be useful for assisting clinicians and providing basic healthcare not controlled by the scope of practice laws (this may include health professions students or retired health professionals who no longer hold a license).

Assigning healthcare volunteers to these different levels reduces the burden of credentials verification for emergency care delivery, allows personnel to be allocated according to need, permits volunteers to be used at their highest capacity, and facilitates sharing of volunteer personnel.

Register for the ESAR-VHP online, where you can also find links to each state's ESAR-VP registration system.

The Basics of Volunteering

If you have given any thought to volunteering, you may have had such questions as:

•Will my license allow me to practice nursing in another state (or country) during a disaster?

•Do I need malpractice insurance?

•Will my job still be there when I return?

•Is volunteering safe?

These are all important issues that nurses who are considering disaster work should investigate.

Licensure

Professional licenses for health professionals are granted at the state level, and as a rule, health professionals may practice only within that state. Recognizing the need for greater flexibility to permit health professionals to more easily cross state lines in times of emergency, some states have entered into an agreement known as the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), which allows reciprocity of licensure.[6] To date, 24 states participate in the NLC.[7] Nurses residing and licensed in a state with a compact can practice in all other states with a compact and do not need additional licensure. Advanced practice nurses do not have a similar agreement at this time.

Because more than one half of US states still do not participate in the NLC, licensing remains an issue if a volunteer nurse wishes to deploy to a state without a compact. Practicing without a license may leave the nurse open to civil or criminal charges.[4] Some states have enacted laws that essentially allow temporary reciprocity of a nurse's valid license during a declared emergency or disaster. In addition, when the nurse is registered with a federal organization, such as the NDMS, the nurse's valid state license is sufficient for practice outside of his or her home state when deployed by the organization. It is important to ask about licensure requirements when signing up with a disaster relief system.

Malpractice Protection

Providing nursing care during a disaster is not the same as providing care in the relatively more controlled, predictable, and supported environment of the hospital. During disasters, the nurse can be faced with multiple, competing priorities; a scarcity of resources and supplies; and challenging environmental conditions.[4] It is difficult, if not impossible, to provide the kind of care that the nurse is accustomed to providing. The risk for errors is high.

Negligence in the provision of nursing care, even during an emergency, might subject the nurse to civil liability. Although some laws protect the nurse in emergency circumstances, such laws may apply only to nurses functioning under the auspices of a recognized response system.[4] For example, health professionals who are registered with the NDMS program are "federalized" employees while they are deployed and have malpractice protection under the Federal Tort Claims Act.[8] Under this act, if a malpractice claim is made related to care provided during a mission, the federal government becomes the defendant instead of the individual. Red Cross volunteers are similarly protected. Nurses considering volunteering with the MRC should inquire about liability protection at their local MRC office.

The possibility of civil liability arising from negligent care during an emergency is another reason that nurses should avoid deploying except with a recognized response system. Nurses who carry their own malpractice insurance should ascertain whether their coverage extends to nursing practice during a disaster.[4] All nurses involved in emergency or disaster care should remember that despite the circumstances, they should not exceed their scope of practice.

Standards of Care

Nurses might wonder how, under extreme conditions and without all the resources of an acute care hospital, they would realistically be able to provide an acceptable level of care to victims of a disaster. The American Nurses Association addresses these concerns in a policy paper, Adapting Standards of Care Under Extreme Conditions: Guidance for Professionals During Disasters, Pandemics, and Other Extreme Emergencies.

Guidance for crisis standards of care that should apply in disaster situations—both naturally occurring and manmade—under scarce resource conditions is also offered in the Institute of Medicine report Guidance for Establishing Crisis Standards of Care for Use in Disaster Situations.[9]

Worker's Compensation

If you are injured in the course of your duties at your regular place of employment, you are eligible for worker's compensation. The same is not necessarily true of harm sustained while providing emergency care, particularly for spontaneous volunteers.

Temporary federal employees (eg, those with the NDMS) receive workers' compensation if they are harmed in the course of duty while deployed. In the MRC, coverage depends on the individual state. Some states may offer compensation for the injured volunteer similar to that offered to regular workers.[10]

Right to Reemployment

In emergency situations, healthcare volunteers may be called away from their employment to respond to requests for assistance. Potential volunteers often wonder whether their jobs will still be there—including seniority, wages, and other benefits—when they return from responding to an emergency.

Some states and the federal government have enacted laws that provide reemployment protection to individuals who participate in emergency response services.[6] Nurses who deploy with the NDMS have job, seniority, and wage protection when they are deployed for disaster response. The nurse who deploys as a spontaneous volunteer will not necessarily have rights of reemployment upon return unless this is agreed on in advance by the employer.[11]

Personal Health and Safety

Disaster zones are chaotic by nature, and unstable infrastructure and inadequate security can endanger the health and safety of responders.[12] Nurses who participate or contemplate becoming involved in disaster relief work often voice concerns about their health and personal safety, and those experienced in disaster relief recommend increasing security for nursing personnel.[13,14] Relief workers are at elevated risk for illness and injuries, such as electrocution from downed power lines, illness from contaminated water supplies, exposure to chemical contaminants, extremes of temperature, insect and animal bites, and infectious diseases.

Many steps can be taken to remain healthy and to avoid illness or injury during deployments. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers health recommendations for relief workers responding to disasters. All immunizations should be up to date, including those specific to the deployment location. Nurses who plan to be ready to deploy at a moment's notice might consider preparing a basic travel health kit. Issues of health and safety further underscore the importance of deploying with an organized response system.

Disaster Education and Training for Nurse Volunteers

Most nurses receive little, if any, disaster preparedness and response education in nursing school, and consequently they lack confidence in their abilities to contribute effectively during disasters.A 2003 survey of 2013 schools of nursing (348 responding) revealed that only 53% offered content in disaster preparedness, and a mean of 4 hours was devoted to this content. In general, nursing school faculty were inadequately prepared to teach disaster preparedness content.[15]

Although schools have increasingly incorporated disaster nursing content in the intervening years, there is as yet little consistency in curricular design, educational methodology, and measurement of educational outcomes of disaster nursing education.[16] Competencies have been developed by several groups to guide disaster education and practice needs for nurses and other healthcare providers:[17]

• International Nursing Coalition for Mass Casualty Education;

• International Council of Nurses Framework of Disaster Nursing Competencies; and

• National Center for Disaster Medicine & Public Health.

A new book, Designing and Integrating a Disaster Preparedness Curriculum (Sigma Theta Tau International, 2015), by Sharon Stanley and Thola Bennecoff Wolanski, offers a blueprint for integrating disaster nursing content into every level of nursing education, from the undergraduate to the graduate level. Nursing faculty members who are responsible for course development, practicing nurses who want to increase their knowledge about disaster preparedness and response, and those who are responsible for planning and implementing

disaster simulation exercises in all healthcare and community settings will also find much of the book's content useful.

Online Training in Disaster Preparedness and Response

If you register with an organized response system, specialized training will be required and provided. However, many nurses, for one reason or another, are unable to deploy to the site of a disaster but want to be ready when disaster comes to them. Ideally, all nurses should be educated about and receive basic training in triaging and caring for victims of a disaster. Several online training courses are offered at no charge, and some even offer free continuing education credits for nurses and other healthcare professionals. Training that focuses on multidisciplinary emergency preparedness and disaster response is a high priority.

Although online courses can vastly increase a nurse's knowledge about emergencies and disasters, this method of learning has limitations. For example, although an online course can teach the cognitive principles of smallpox inoculation, it is not a substitute for the traditional educational technique of return demonstration. Giving a smallpox vaccine requires a special technique that cannot be practiced with online learning.

The National Nurse Emergency Preparedness Initiative

The goals of the National Nurse Emergency Preparedness Initiative (NNEPI) at George Washington University are to increase nurses' awareness of their roles and responsibilities in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from CBRNE events and providing nurses with comprehensive emergency preparedness training.

To this end, the NNEPI offers a highly interactive Web-based course that provides emergency preparedness training for nurses who are not necessarily planning to deploy but are working in hospitals/acute care, schools, public health, ambulatory care, hospice/palliative care, long-term care, occupational health, and home health settings.

The course, Nurses on the Front Line: Preparing for Emergencies and Disasters, incorporates elements of the critical thinking involved in performance-level training.[18] Web-based training cannot substitute for high-quality, performance-level classroom training, but the reality is that most nurses are unable to attend such a course in person. Through the online course, nurses learn how to triage, assess, and treat patients and practice clinical decision-making skills.

After completing the course, nurses are able to:

•Prepare for the physical, psychological, and safety aspects of CBRNE events;

•Recognize indicators of possible CBRNE events during routine care of patients;

•Notify appropriate authorities when a CBRNE event is suspected;

•Protect both the nurse and the public through the use of universal precautions, personal protective equipment, decontamination, evidence collection, and isolation/quarantine precautions;

•Assess, diagnose, and treat injuries and illnesses associated with CBRNE events, with a focus on the unique concerns of special needs populations; and

•Support the community during the recovery phase after a CBRNE event.

There is no cost for this online course, which takes about 6 hours to complete. However, there is a cost of $24 for those who wish to receive continuing education credits.

Don't Delay, Sign Up Today

If, when every new disaster hits the news, you start thinking that you would like to offer your time and expertise to those in need, the time to make your wishes come true is now. Volunteering helps not only the victims of a disaster, but the volunteers themselves. A comprehensive review of the literature on the health benefits of volunteering found a significant connection between volunteering and good health.[19] Volunteers have greater longevity, higher functional ability, lower rates of depression, less heart disease, and a higher quality of life.

So, what's stopping you?

Reaction:

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