Emergency Preparedness Nursing Education: Learner and Faculty Perspectives

Over the past decade, entry-to-practice emergency preparedness competencies have been identified as an essential component of nursing education. In this paper the author reports upon a small Canadian study which explores the perspective of undergraduate learners and faculty members who participated in and/or facilitated an Emergency Preparedness Simulation (EPS) module during a primary health care praxis course. The central purpose of this study was to explore the related experiences of learners and faculty who participated in or facilitated an Emergency Preparedness Simulation (EPS) module academic year and their perspectives on the effectiveness of the simulation in preparing learners to respond to emergencies in the future. The EPS module included a seminar followed by a mass-casualty simulation experience. The mass-casualty simulation experience included a “Teddy Bear” triage and an “Explosion” triage. The constructivist data analysis identified four related patterns for both the learner and faculty participants: Strengths (S), Objections (O), Suggestions (S), and Feelings (!) [SOS!]. Three themes were identified in each pattern: relevance, design, and engagement. In comparing the learner and faculty perspectives, there is a clear congruence between the strengths identified, the objections identified, and the power of feelings for both learners and faculty who participate in the emergency preparedness scenarios. Learners and faculty had different suggestions. Learners suggested more time on developing skills, particularly around first aid of individual clients, and recommended all students begin with the “Teddy Bear” triage. Faculty suggested a re-thinking of the “Explosion” triage simulation to emphasize community based emergency preparedness and responsiveness. Such re-focusing would support the integration of key primary health care principles and values including equity, social justice, and social determinants of health. Learners and faculty valued the EPS module and recommended it continue to be a learning component of the primary health care course.