Simulating Chaos: Empowering Nursing Students Through a Disaster Response Drill

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Public Health
• Emergency Preparedness

Background:

• The 2021 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials revised standards highlight population health, including disaster preparation and response.
• Nursing educators must integrate these concepts into curricula to prepare students for practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a collaborative mass-casualty simulation for nursing students.
• To assess the impact of experiential learning on disaster response competencies.

Main Methods:

• Faculty developed a collaborative mass-casualty simulation.
• Multiple community disaster response agencies participated.
• Experiential learning scenario created for realistic training.

Main Results:

• Debriefing revealed three key themes: triage process, communication and collaboration, and leadership.
• Students recognized the importance of inter-agency collaboration in disaster response.

Conclusions:

• Simulation-based experiences should integrate didactic concepts like triage, communication, and collaboration.
• Emphasis on leadership skills is crucial for preparing nurses for real-world disaster response.