ICN FRAMEWORK OF DISASTER NURSING EXAM 1-4–
COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE | PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND
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1. Which component of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Framework of Disaster
Nursing Competencies primarily addresses the nurse's role in establishing community
resilience before an event occurs?
A. Mitigation and Preparedness
B. Response
C. Recovery
D. Evaluation
Answer: A
This domain focuses on pre-event activities including risk assessment, planning, education,
and community engagement to build resilience and minimize disaster impact.
2. A community health nurse is reviewing regional hazards to determine potential mass
casualty events. Under the ICN framework, this activity falls under which phase of the
disaster management continuum?
A. Response
B. Mitigation
C. Recovery
D. Post-impact analysis
Answer: B
Hazard identification and vulnerability assessment are core components of mitigation and
preparedness, aimed at proactively reducing disaster risks.
3. During a sudden-onset flash flood, a nurse on duty mobilizes emergency supplies and
initiates immediate triage at a makeshift shelter. This action aligns with which core
competency domain?
A. Mitigation
,B. Preparedness
C. Response
D. Recovery
Answer: C
The response phase involves immediate actions taken during or immediately after a disaster to
save lives, manage injuries, and secure safety.
4. A nurse working in a post-disaster environment assists displaced residents with
psychological support and long-term health monitoring. Which ICN disaster competency
phase does this represent?
A. Mitigation
B. Preparedness
C. Response
D. Recovery
Answer: D
Recovery focuses on restoring community infrastructure, psychosocial health support, and
returning systems to baseline or improved functioning.
5. Which of the following best defines the primary goal of the ICN Framework of Disaster
Nursing Competencies for global nursing practice?
A. To replace local emergency response plans with a singular global protocol
B. To establish a standardized baseline of competencies for nurses across all phases of disaster
management
C. To regulate hospital administration policies during biological outbreaks
D. To mandate financial compensation for disaster relief nurses
Answer: B
The framework provides a universal structure defining the knowledge, skills, and attitudes
required of nurses across mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
,6. When participating in a multi-agency disaster simulation, a nurse practices
communicating via standardized radio protocols. This exercise primarily enhances which
competency?
A. Clinical triage execution
B. Interprofessional communication and coordination
C. Long-term infrastructural reconstruction
D. Epidemiological surveillance
Answer: B
Effective communication, teamwork, and coordination with interprofessional and interagency
partners are vital components of disaster preparedness.
7. A nurse in a disaster triage area encounters an influx of victims from a chemical plant
explosion. Which initial action demonstrates adherence to safe disaster nursing principles?
A. Immediately admitting all patients to the nearest indoor ward
B. Ensuring personal and team safety via proper personal protective equipment (PPE) before
entering the zone
C. Administering broad-spectrum antibiotics to every arriving patient
D. Disregarding decontamination procedures to speed up room entry
Answer: B
Responder safety is always the first priority; entering a hazardous environment without proper
PPE risks incapacitating the healthcare workforce.
8. In a resource-limited mass casualty incident utilizing START (Simple Triage and Rapid
Treatment), a patient is categorized as "Green" (Minor). What does this designation
mean?
A. Deceased or expectant; care is withheld
B. Immediate life-threatening injuries requiring urgent intervention
C. "Walking wounded" whose treatment can be delayed for hours or days
D. Severe respiratory failure requiring immediate intubation
, Answer: C
Green tag patients have minor injuries, are ambulatory, and do not require immediate
stabilization, allowing resources to focus on red-tagged individuals.
9. A nurse utilizing the START triage system assesses an adult victim who is not breathing.
After manually opening the airway, the patient remains apneic. What is the correct triage
category and next step?
A. Red; initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation immediately
B. Yellow; place the patient in the recovery position
C. Black; tag as deceased/expectant and move to the next patient
D. Green; re-evaluate after 10 minutes
Answer: C
Under START triage, if an adult patient remains apneic after the airway is manually opened,
they are tagged black (expectant/deceased) due to resource constraints.
10. Which ethical principle is most severely challenged when nurses must allocate scarce
ventilators during a catastrophic pandemic surge?
A. Autonomy
B. Beneficence
C. Justice and distributive fairness
D. Veracity
Answer: C
Distributive justice governs the fair allocation of scarce resources when demand drastically
exceeds supply during a disaster.
11. A nurse manager is designing a hospital evacuation plan. According to disaster
management standards, what is the first priority during a structural emergency requiring
evacuation?
A. Securing pharmaceutical drug cabinets
B. Moving patients in immediate danger to a safe zone on the same floor or horizontal
evacuation route
COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE | PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS-RATIONALES | EXAM PREP | DOWNLOAD INSTANT
PDF | GUARANTEED PASS || LATEST EXAM 2026-2027
1. Which component of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Framework of Disaster
Nursing Competencies primarily addresses the nurse's role in establishing community
resilience before an event occurs?
A. Mitigation and Preparedness
B. Response
C. Recovery
D. Evaluation
Answer: A
This domain focuses on pre-event activities including risk assessment, planning, education,
and community engagement to build resilience and minimize disaster impact.
2. A community health nurse is reviewing regional hazards to determine potential mass
casualty events. Under the ICN framework, this activity falls under which phase of the
disaster management continuum?
A. Response
B. Mitigation
C. Recovery
D. Post-impact analysis
Answer: B
Hazard identification and vulnerability assessment are core components of mitigation and
preparedness, aimed at proactively reducing disaster risks.
3. During a sudden-onset flash flood, a nurse on duty mobilizes emergency supplies and
initiates immediate triage at a makeshift shelter. This action aligns with which core
competency domain?
A. Mitigation
,B. Preparedness
C. Response
D. Recovery
Answer: C
The response phase involves immediate actions taken during or immediately after a disaster to
save lives, manage injuries, and secure safety.
4. A nurse working in a post-disaster environment assists displaced residents with
psychological support and long-term health monitoring. Which ICN disaster competency
phase does this represent?
A. Mitigation
B. Preparedness
C. Response
D. Recovery
Answer: D
Recovery focuses on restoring community infrastructure, psychosocial health support, and
returning systems to baseline or improved functioning.
5. Which of the following best defines the primary goal of the ICN Framework of Disaster
Nursing Competencies for global nursing practice?
A. To replace local emergency response plans with a singular global protocol
B. To establish a standardized baseline of competencies for nurses across all phases of disaster
management
C. To regulate hospital administration policies during biological outbreaks
D. To mandate financial compensation for disaster relief nurses
Answer: B
The framework provides a universal structure defining the knowledge, skills, and attitudes
required of nurses across mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
,6. When participating in a multi-agency disaster simulation, a nurse practices
communicating via standardized radio protocols. This exercise primarily enhances which
competency?
A. Clinical triage execution
B. Interprofessional communication and coordination
C. Long-term infrastructural reconstruction
D. Epidemiological surveillance
Answer: B
Effective communication, teamwork, and coordination with interprofessional and interagency
partners are vital components of disaster preparedness.
7. A nurse in a disaster triage area encounters an influx of victims from a chemical plant
explosion. Which initial action demonstrates adherence to safe disaster nursing principles?
A. Immediately admitting all patients to the nearest indoor ward
B. Ensuring personal and team safety via proper personal protective equipment (PPE) before
entering the zone
C. Administering broad-spectrum antibiotics to every arriving patient
D. Disregarding decontamination procedures to speed up room entry
Answer: B
Responder safety is always the first priority; entering a hazardous environment without proper
PPE risks incapacitating the healthcare workforce.
8. In a resource-limited mass casualty incident utilizing START (Simple Triage and Rapid
Treatment), a patient is categorized as "Green" (Minor). What does this designation
mean?
A. Deceased or expectant; care is withheld
B. Immediate life-threatening injuries requiring urgent intervention
C. "Walking wounded" whose treatment can be delayed for hours or days
D. Severe respiratory failure requiring immediate intubation
, Answer: C
Green tag patients have minor injuries, are ambulatory, and do not require immediate
stabilization, allowing resources to focus on red-tagged individuals.
9. A nurse utilizing the START triage system assesses an adult victim who is not breathing.
After manually opening the airway, the patient remains apneic. What is the correct triage
category and next step?
A. Red; initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation immediately
B. Yellow; place the patient in the recovery position
C. Black; tag as deceased/expectant and move to the next patient
D. Green; re-evaluate after 10 minutes
Answer: C
Under START triage, if an adult patient remains apneic after the airway is manually opened,
they are tagged black (expectant/deceased) due to resource constraints.
10. Which ethical principle is most severely challenged when nurses must allocate scarce
ventilators during a catastrophic pandemic surge?
A. Autonomy
B. Beneficence
C. Justice and distributive fairness
D. Veracity
Answer: C
Distributive justice governs the fair allocation of scarce resources when demand drastically
exceeds supply during a disaster.
11. A nurse manager is designing a hospital evacuation plan. According to disaster
management standards, what is the first priority during a structural emergency requiring
evacuation?
A. Securing pharmaceutical drug cabinets
B. Moving patients in immediate danger to a safe zone on the same floor or horizontal
evacuation route
