NR553 Week 4 Discussion, Disaster Preparedness and Response

Disaster Preparedness and Response NAME Chamberlain College of Nursing NR 553: Global Health Policy DATE Explore an organization involved in providing disaster preparedness and response (local, national, or international). Briefly present the organization and describe the role of nurses in fulfilling the objectives of the organization in case of emergency. Propose another opportunity for nursing to become actively involved with this organization in providing disaster preparedness or response. Week 4 Disaster Preparedness and Response According to Veenema et al. (2016), nurses should play a central role in a healthcare systems disaster preparedness and response as they compose the largest segment of the healthcare workforce both in the United States and globally. However, in most countries including the United States efforts to prepare and mobilize nurses have been intermittent leaving nurses inadequately prepared to respond to the complex demands of disaster. It is therefore critical that the roles of nurses in disaster management are enhanced to effectively and adequately respond to disasters which are sometimes unavoidable. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an independent and neutral organization that seeks to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to victims of armed conflicts as well as other catastrophes. Most of the work is founded on the Geneva Conventions of 1949, additional protocols and statues as well as the resolutions of the international Red Cross and Red Crescent. It is one of the most notable organizations that is involved with disaster responses globally and in some instances is critical in disaster preparedness (The International Committee of the Red Cross, n.d) Nurses play a crucial role in ICRC in the provision of healthcare services to the victims of various disasters. Some of their primary roles include offering treatment services to victims of disasters in such ways as providing first aid services as well as medications. Nurses also care for the victims of disasters and act as educators on how to take over their self-care. However, nurses also need to take up leadership roles in policy development on disaster preparedness and response as they are well often well versed with developments. Further, their roles in disaster preparedness and response should also be enhanced as they can provide insightful knowledge on these areas from their experience and expertise. It also that their existing roles as educators, leaders, and responders in disaster preparedness and response to enhance disaster readiness and promote global surge capacity and resilience to disasters (Veenema et al., 2016). References The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). (n.d). Mandate and Mission. Retrieved from, Veenema, T. G., Griffin, A., Gable, A. R., MacIntyre, L., Simons, R. A. D. M., Couig, M. P., & Larson, E. (2016). Nurses as leaders in disaster preparedness and response—A call to action. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 48(2), 187-200. PEER RESPONSE TO POST: Hi Carole, Thank you for your post on the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). I will admit to not being remotely versed in their work or history, as I often think of the “Red Cross” as being a national organization only. I appreciated you bringing awareness to the good work they have done over decades. I found the article you referenced on the nurse role in disaster preparedness really spoke to a topic I raised in my own initial post this week, that of the need for nurse involvement and the current gap nurse input in disaster preparedness. I found an article that was written to evaluate the response of the “Call to Action” you found written by Couig et al. (2017) and published last year. The authors evaluated progress mad on the call to action and the work of the Society for the Advancement of Disaster Nursing. They discuss the work done including practice recommendations, research recommendations, and education recommendations, all of which were constructed by various nurse workgroups. The work already done is impressive. On a very micro level, I personally continue to find very limited opportunities for nurses to give input on disaster preparedness. As someone who has 20 years of critical care experience and is a systems and policy thinker, I am very interested in seeking employment and education in this specialty. Ironically, to gain this type of experience you have to have existing experience and to give input into policy, you have to have education in emergency planning which programs related to seem to be engineering or civil agency focused (police force) and not healthcare related. It will be interesting to see if residencies or training in this type of work for nurses become available. References Couig, M. P., Gable, A., Griffin, A., Langan, J. C., Katzburg, J. R., Wolgast, K. A., & ... Veenema, T. G. (2017). Progress on a Call to Action: Nurses as leaders in disaster preparedness and response. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 41(2), 112-117. doi:10.1097/NAQ. PROFESSOR RESPONSE TO POST: Thank you, Carole. Christie also mentioned the lack of nurse leadership visibility in disaster preparedness. How will you change this picture in your own community? Who will you collaborate with? RESPONSE TO PROFESSOR and PEER POST: Dr. Fildes and Christie, Thank you for your response. After reading this weeks’ discussion thread I have a better understanding that nurses should be adequately equipped with the knowledge and skills to respond to disasters, starting from their undergraduate training to their professional training. After reading your post I discovered the American Nurses Association (ANA) recommends that RNs take a formal class or certification course, enabling them to keep up with the latest skill development and education. National associations like the ANA are partnering with government groups, nongovernment organizations, employers, and individual registered nurses to achieve systems, policies, and laws that enable the registered nurse and other providers to respond to disaster situations confidently and to ensure that the needs of the public will be met during a disaster. The ANA encourages nurses to join a disaster volunteer registry, know and understand your employer’s disaster response plan, and become personally prepared for emergencies (ANA, n.d). If a nurse wants to become an integral responder in a disaster, they should volunteer with a disaster registry, such as federal Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, nationally or locally with the American Red Cross, or their local Medical Reserve Corps. This will ensure they have the proper credentialing and training for responding to a disaster and will be part of an organized system. I further researched Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) and realized that volunteers include nurses, doctors, pharmacists, therapists, public health officials and other community members professionals without healthcare backgrounds (MRC, 2018). Some activities that MRC volunteers participate in and support include emergency preparedness and response training, health screenings, emergency sheltering, disaster medical support, disaster risk reduction, and health education and promotion (MRC, 2018). After reviewing the website I found there are two MRC units near where I reside. I’m very tempted to learn more about volunteering and join one of these units. Reference American Nurses Association. (n.d). Disaster preparedness. Retrieved from Medical Reserve Corps. (2018). About the Medical Reserve Corps. Retrieved from PARTIAL PEER POST: One organization I can definitely identify is the United States military. Being a veteran of the US Navy, I had been deployed to provide humanitarian aid. Many times, in the media we have seen the Navy deploy in support of international disasters. This can be seen with the Haitian earthquake of 2010 as well as during the devastation seen after Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana in 2005 (Born, Dean, Hayda, McSwain, Riddles, & Shimkus, 2011). RESPONSE TO PEER POST: Penny, First, thank you for your service and dedication as a military nurse. I have to admit that I didn’t even consider the U.S. military as an organization involved in disaster preparedness and response. It wasn’t until today after reading your post that I learned that until 1901 when the United States Army Nurse Corps was established, military nurses were civilians that volunteered their time. Today, military nurses hold military rank and can be part of any of the Nurse Corps of any major military branch, including the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Nurses on the front lines (i.e., military, emergency department, and public health) have been entrusted with the responsibility to care for victims of disasters. The events of September 11, 2001, have resulted in a greater focus on the role of first responders in carrying out the nation's emergency management efforts. Slepski defined emergency preparedness as “the comprehensive knowledge, skills, abilities, and actions needed to prepare for and respond to threatened, actual, or suspected chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive incidents, man-made incidents, natural disasters, or other related events” (2005). Emergency preparedness has become a national priority, and the federal government has responded by investing billions of dollars in preparedness. The Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) plays an important role in the implementation of the National Preparedness System (Department of Homeland Security, 2018). The HSGP is comprised of three grant programs the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP), the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), and the Operation Stonegarden (OPS). These grant programs fund a range of preparedness activities, including planning, organization, equipment purchase, training, exercises, and management and administration (Department of Homeland Security, 2018). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the primary federal entity responsible for ensuring that first responder, such as police, fire, emergency medical, and public health personnel, have the capabilities needed to provide a coordinated, comprehensive response to any large-scale crisis. Reference Department of Homeland Security. (2018). Homeland Security Grant Program. Retrieved from Slepski, L. A. (2005). Emergency preparedness: concept development for nursing practice. The Nursing Clinics of North America, 40(3), 419.