An Evacuation Shelter Simulation: Increasing Confidence with Nursing Roles During a Disaster

Abstract: Background/Significance: The Future of Nursing 2020-2030 (2021) (FON) stresses the urgency of training nurses for community settings, including disasters and public health emergencies. Training for working in evacuation shelters often focuses on providing clinical care but the nursing scope is much broader. This training addresses that gap to better ensure evacuees receive the high-quality nursing care needed.

Project

Description: During a 4-hour in-person simulation, pre-licensure nursing students filled common nursing roles in an evacuation shelter, including triage, case management, infection control and leadership (shelter and disaster level). Simulated patient cases represented our diverse community. The case included three scenes - preparation, shelter opening, and shelter closing followed by debriefing. Student evaluation included pre- and post- confidence levels for 7 key objectives on a 4-point scale and comments regarding significant learning.

Results: Forty-four students participated with 31 (70%) completing the survey. Their self-rated confidence increased from 23% to between 73% and 97% on the 7 objectives. They also reported increased awareness of the variety of roles nurses play in disasters, willingness to serve in a shelter and understanding of nursing care to vulnerable populations in this setting.


Discussion: Post-simulation, students reported increased knowledge, motivation, and willingness to work in the disaster shelter setting. They increased their understanding of the complexity of social determinants of health for medically fragile individuals who will need nursing care during disaster situations. By implementing the FON recommendations through this simulation, these students have become trailblazers in response to disasters and public health emergencies in the future.