ENA Connection - September 2016

The Case for an Emergency
Preparedness Nurse Champion

According to reports, the United States will have more than 1 million nursing vacancies by 2020.1 A 2008 ENA survey found 40 percent of the

1,300 respondents experienced turnover rates of more than 10 percent. 2 Emergency nurses have to figure out how to maintain the workforce and keep members engaged in the practice of emergency nursing.

Several research studies have shown highly engaged staff have higher levels of initiative, innovation and effectiveness, as well as lower turnover rates. 3, 4 One way to help empower stretcherside nurses is to encourage champions for different projects. In addition to improving patient care, these nurse champions have an inspirational effect on the rest of the team as other staff become intrigued about the project. 3

When we think about nurse champions, the typical hospital initiatives come to mind, such as catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central-line-associated bloodstream infections, hospital-acquired pneumonia, stroke or pediatric readiness. I would also suggest having a nurse champion for emergency preparedness.

Disasters can happen at any time in the form of a natural, weather-related disaster, manmade event, technological compromise or even an infectious disease outbreak. Despite the widespread potential threat of disasters, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2014 noted most training programs around disaster preparedness were “knee-jerk” responses to events such as the Ebola scare. This is despite significant increases in disaster preparedness funding for hospitals and public health departments since the attacks of September 11. 5

I have had the privilege of working in multiple states and been exposed to different levels of preparedness in hospitals where I have been employed, as well as various levels of regional and community disaster preparedness. This type of work does not appeal to every emergency nurse, but ED managers and directors should give staff nurses the opportunity to explore this training.

Several training opportunities are free or at minimal cost.

Attendees of Emergency Nursing 2015 in Orlando had the
opportunity to participate in or witness a mass casualty incident
drill during a general session, which was a first for ENA. ENA’s
MCI participants could not have predicted that less than one
year later, Orlando would be the site of the biggest mass
shooting incident in the U.S., killing 49 people and injuring 53
others. Thinking about frontline colleagues trying their best to
help all the victims reminded me of my recent training at FEMA’s
Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama. I
participated in a hospital emergency response training for mass
casualty incidents, one of several training courses designed
specifically for healthcare personnel. This training is free to
state, local and tribal emergency responders.

ENA will hold its second MCI hands-on training at Emergency Nursing 2016 in Los Angeles this month. (See article on Page 14.) Training sessions will start every 30 minutes during exhibit hall hours Sept. 15-17.

I strongly encourage anyone who has staff interested in emergency preparedness to seek out training opportunities, especially those with the potential to become an ED champion. Emergency nurses must be prepared with the knowledge and skills to respond to disasters. n

Resources

American Red Cross Disaster Nursing http://www.redcross.org/support/volunteer/nurses/students

ANA Nursing World Resources for Disaster Preparedness & Response http://www.nursingworld.org/disasterpreparedness

Emergency Nurses Association Emergency Preparedness Resources https://www.ena.org/practice-research/Practice/Safety/EmergencyPrepared/ Pages/ Default.aspx

Technical Resources, Assistance Center and Information Exchange https://asprtracie.hhs.gov

Center for Domestic Preparedness https://cdp.dhs.gov Federal Emergency Management Agency http://www.fema.gov

References

1. Tubbert, S. J. (2016). Resiliency in emergency nurses. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 42(1), 47–52. doi:10.1016/ j.jen.2015.05.016

2. Raup, G. H. (2008). The impact of ED nurse manager leadership style on staff nurse turnover and patient satisfaction in academic health center hospitals. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 34( 5), 403–409. doi:10.1016/ j.jen.2007.08.020

3. Scanlon, K. A., & Woolforde, L. (2016). Igniting change through an empowered frontline: A unique improvement approach centered on staff engagement, empowerment, and professional development. Nurse

Leader, 14(1), 38–46. doi:10.1016/ j.mnl.2015.11.007

4. Siller, J., Dolansky, M. A., Clavelle, J. T., & Fitzpatrick, J. J. (2016). Shared governance and work engagement in emergency nurses. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 42( 4), 325–330. doi:10.1016/ j.jen.2016.01.002

5. Veenema, T. G., Griffin, A., Gable, A. R., MacIntyre, L., Simons, R. N., 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. doi:10.1111/jnu.12198