Healthcare worker competencies for disaster training

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough training and education have long been accepted as integral to disaster preparedness, many currently taught practices are neither evidence-based nor standardized. The need for effective evidence-based disaster training of healthcare staff at all levels, including the development of standards and guidelines for training in the multi-disciplinary health response to major events, has been designated by the disaster response community as a high priority. We describe the application of systematic evidence-based consensus building methods to derive educational competencies and objectives in criteria-based preparedness and response relevant to all hospital healthcare workers.MethodsThe conceptual development of cross-cutting competencies incorporated current evidence through a systematic consensus building process with the following steps: (1) review of peer-reviewed literature on relevant content areas and educational theory; (2) structured review of existing competencies, national level courses and published training objectives; (3) synthesis of new cross-cutting competencies; (4) expert panel review; (5) refinement of new competencies and; (6) development of testable terminal objectives for each competency using similar processes covering requisite knowledge, attitudes, and skills.ResultsSeven cross-cutting competencies were developed: (1) Recognize a potential critical event and implement initial actions; (2) Apply the principles of critical event management; (3) Demonstrate critical event safety principles; (4) Understand the institutional emergency operations plan; (5) Demonstrate effective critical event communications; (6) Understand the incident command system and your role in it; (7) Demonstrate the knowledge and skills needed to fulfill your role during a critical event. For each of the cross-cutting competencies, comprehensive terminal objectives are described.ConclusionCross-cutting competencies and objectives developed through a systematic evidence-based consensus building approach may serve as a foundation for future hospital healthcare worker training and education in disaster preparedness and response.

Hospital Nurses’ Competencies in Disaster Situations: A Qualitative Study in the South of Brazil

“…6 Hospital Nurses' Competencies in Disaster Preparedness Preparedness aims to optimize preventive, response, and reconstruction actions to disasters. It should be based on institutional development of scientific and technological projects regarding: human resources, cultural changes, motivation and enterprise articulation, information and epidemiologic studies on disasters, monitoring, alert and alarm, operational and contingency planning, protection of population at risk, mobilization, rigging, and logistic support.…”

“…3 Documents which describe professional competencies for Public Health Workers' 4 Mental Health Competencies for Emergency Situations 5 and Health Worker Competencies for Disaster Education 6 have been published. In nursing, research has been developed to identify emergency and preparedness disaster core-competencies for nurses, 7 and the International Council of Nurses (Geneva, Switzerland) established a framework of disaster nursing competencies.…”

A Fundamental, National, Medical Disaster Management Plan: An Education-Based Model

“…Although designing and con-National Medical Disaster Management Plan ducting this comprehensive training program for all medical universities was the first experience of MOHME's Disaster Management Task Force, similar programs have been conducted by other international health systems. [16][17][18][19] As it was unlikely that a three-day training course alone could lead the learners to achieve required disaster preparedness competencies, MOHME's Disaster Management Task Force directed the collaborating centers to nominate participants who had prior disaster management experience, knowledge, and capabilities. Consequently, a significant improvement of knowledge among the participants was achieved.…”

A guide to emergency preparedness and disaster nursing education resources

“…The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2008) and the Nursing Emergency Preparedness Education Coalition (NEPEC, 2010) also affirm that nurses must possess a minimum level of emergency preparedness knowledge and skills to respond to disaster situations. While nursing organizations and scientific research support the need for disaster nursing education (Duong, 2009;Fung, Loke, & Lai, 2008;Hsu et al, 2006;Jennings-Sanders, 2004;Veenama, 2006), findings demonstrate that nurses lack emergency preparedness education and skills (Fountain et al, 2015;Fung et al, 2008;Weiner, Irwin, Trangenstein, & Gordon, 2005). Moreover, evidence supports that nurses have access to only a paucity of educational resources to meet current competency demands required by the profession (Bistaraki, Waddington, & Galanis, 2011;Considine & Mitchell, 2009;Duong, 2009).…”

“…While scientific research and professional organizations uphold the demand for all nurses to acquire and maintain disaster nursing competencies (Duong, 2009;Fung et al, 2008;Hsu et al, 2006;Jennings-Sanders, 2004), evidence supports that training in disaster prevention, detection, management, and mitigation remains inadequate (Fung et al, 2008;Twedell, 2009;Weiner et al, 2005). Content in disaster nursing is lacking in many American nursing schools and, as a result, many nurses have received minimal or no disaster nursing education (Rebmann & Mohr, 2010) and are faced with the daunting task of acquiring requisite preparedness resources and competencies on their own (Bistaraki et al, 2011;Considine & Mitchell, 2009;Duong, 2009).…”