Association of Community Health Nursing Educators: Disaster Preparedness White Paper for Community/Public Health Nursing Educators

Abstract

The Association of Community Health Nursing Educators (ACHNE) has developed a number of documents designed to delineate the scope and function of community/public health nursing educators, researchers, and practitioners. In response to societal issues, increased emphasis on disaster preparedness in nursing and public health, and requests from partner organizations to contribute to curriculum development endeavors regarding disaster preparedness, the ACHNE Disaster Preparedness Task Force was appointed in spring 2007 for the purpose of developing this document. Task Force members developed a draft of the document in summer and fall 2007, input was solicited and received from ACHNE members in fall 2007, and the document was approved and published in January 2008. The members of ACHNE extend their appreciation to the members of the Emergency Preparedness Task Force for their efforts: Pam Frable, N.D., R.N.; Sandra Kuntz, Ph.D., C.N.S.-B.C. (Chair); Kristine Qureshi, D.N.Sc., C.E.N., R.N.; Linda Strong, Ed.D., R.N. This white paper is aimed at meeting the needs of community/public health nursing educators and clarifying issues for the nursing and public health communities. ACHNE is committed to promotion of the public's health through ensuring leadership and excellence in community and public health nursing education, research, and practice.

Preparing for disasters: Education and management strategies explored

“…As with other skills, application of essential elements of disaster preparedness education should be practiced in a real or simulated situation (Kuntz et al, 2008). Simulation techniques allow student experiences "that would be difficult to replicate in the classroom or in a clinical setting (Carter and Gaskins, 2010, p. 406)".…”

“…Disasters are common and will continue to occur. To meet the global need for effective disaster response, first responders must be educated (Kuntz et al, 2008) and feel a certain ethical responsibility to assist. Nurses are consistently described as reliable responders due to their education and caring characteristics (ANA, 2010).…”

“…The ACHNE Disaster Preparedness Task Force, appointed in 2007, published a white paper outlining critical attributes of CPHN faculty and students for disaster preparedness (Kuntz et al, 2008). Teaching disaster nursing content is most often the responsibility of the community/public health faculty.…”

Emergency and Disaster Preparedness in Nurses: A Concept Analysis

“…Although these features overlap with other health practices, the nursingoriented view should prevail [25][26][27]. Emergency and disaster knowledge is gained through participating in multidisciplinary educational activities as well as emergency and disaster trainings and drills [28][29][30][31][32][33]. The second attribute is 'response planning strategies'.…”

Perception and Core Competencies of Disaster Nursing in South Korea

“…), mass casualty care, communication, systematization, coordination issues, triage process, psychological issues pertinent in disaster situations, overall role of nurses, role of leadership, assessment of health needs, utilization of personnel and resources and evaluation of provided nursing care and services [7,8]. Numerous studies have mentioned the need for education and training regarding the nurse's own field to care for patients during disaster events that are rarely encountered in the usual practice [9][10][11][12] and countries that have experienced disasters such as the United States and India recognized the severity of the problem and organized discussions and workshops regarding nurse education [13][14][15]. Meanwhile, researches in South Korea are mainly focused on the field of emergency medicine in the response phase during the occurrence of a disaster, and the administrative approach for the maintenance of a disaster management system [16][17][18].…”