Development and evaluation of a multimodality simulation disaster education and training program for hospital nurses

To develop a multimodality simulation program for hospital nurses to enhance their disaster competency and evaluate the effect of the program.

The program implementation started in October 2016 and ended in December 2016. It was developed using the ADDIE model (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation). Evaluation consisted of formative assessment and summative assessment. Formative assessment was performed during triage, crisis management, and problem-solving simulation programs through direct feedback and debriefing from the teacher. Summative assessment was performed using the Kirkpatrick curriculum evaluation framework.

Needs assessment using the modified Delphi survey resulted in these competencies for hospital disaster nursing: triage, incident command, surge capacity, life-saving procedures, and special situations. Each competency was matched with the appropriate simulation modalities. A total of 40 emergency nurses participated in the study program. The evaluation of the program resulted in improvement in perception, crisis management, problem solving, and technical skills in disaster nursing.

Multimodality simulation training program was developed to enhance the competency of hospital nurses in disaster response. All participants improved their disaster response competencies significantly. The program that was developed in this study could be used as a fundamental tool in future research in disaster curriculum development.