Disaster education and training of emergency nurses in South Australia

Background: With the ever increasing threat of mass casualty incidents, it is important that all emergency nurses, particularly on a senior clinical level, have a reasonable understanding the health aspects of disaster response. South Australian nurses are faced with a twofold problem; limited disaster education opportunities and limited experience dealing with mass casualty events on a scale that has overwhelmed the health system. This could imply a decreased level of disaster awareness among South Australian emergency nurses. The paucity in literature regarding disaster education for emergency nurses suggests a significant gap in knowledge that needs to be explored. Aim: The study aimed to examine South Australian emergency nurses' knowledge and understanding of disaster response in the health care setting. This was done by exploring four main areas: (i) disaster education and/or training, (ii) disaster awareness, (iii) confidence to respond to a disaster event and (iv) previous experience. Method: The study was conducted in South Australia in late 2006. A survey was circulated among registered nurses (RN) working in public hospital emergency departments (ED) in the metropolitan area. Results: The survey yielded a 60% response rate with 152 nurses participating in the study. The research demonstrated that South Australian emergency nurses perceived themselves to have a decreased level of disaster preparedness. Limited education opportunities and previous disaster response experience may be responsible for diminished confidence and disaster awareness among emergency nurses in South Australia. Although 95% of nurses agreed that disaster education for emergency nurses is important, 39% of participants have never had disaster training, while 63% of participants have never been involved in a disaster response in their professional life. Conclusion: Emergency nurses are an important element of the hospital disaster response. Emergency nurse preparedness and confidence to respond in a disaster event can be directly affected by a combination of previous disaster experience and education and training. Standardising disaster education and making it more available will not only increase the level of disaster awareness but will help to make nurses feel less vulnerable when having to face the unexpected. Complacency is not acceptable in a world where the impact of disasters and mass casualty events are increasing. (C) 2009 College of Emergency Nursing Australasia Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.