For peace of mind, people imagine disasters will hit other people, not them. This psychological defense may work for most people, but it is not a healthy strategy for nurse leaders. As society and the world evolve, as more people travel around the globe and get exposed to new diseases, as cities and countries become more heavily populated, and as wars and dwindling resources create more displaced persons, the likelihood of our being involved in some disaster is growing. While we cannot predict when the next disaster or public health emergency will strike our community, nurses, and especially nurse leaders, can begin preparing for their roles in managing and responding to crises. The fact that there is little time in the normal rush of business to plan for the next crisis will not change the community, professional, regulatory, and ethical1 expectations that we, as professionals, will be prepared. In this issue, our authors offer a variety of insights and options to help nurses prepare and strengthen the health care workforce's readiness for all-hazards preparedness. Some authors also offer ways to engage communities in preparedness.
Because nurses are on the front lines of caring for people, they are an integral component of disaster preparation and response. Nurses will be involved whether it is an outbreak of an infectious disease from another country, a climate-related catastrophe, global or domestic terrorism, or civil unrest. When disaster strikes, people will want to know that nursing professionals have contemplated the possibility of that disaster and have planned effectively for responding, no matter what the scale. For this planning to be effective, it is critical for nurse leaders to be integrated into all phases of the planning and response efforts. Nurse leaders must also possess the knowledge and skills to effectively manage in a crisis.2
Nurse leaders who are infusing excellence and a vision for the future of disaster nursing are featured in this issue of Nursing Administration Quarterly. Here are 3 examples of the leading-edge innovations you will discover in this issue:
1. Whether or not you live in the West Coast's seismically active "Ring of Fire" region, you can read a comprehensive review of nursing leadership engagement, and health care system planning for earthquakes and tsunamis in Eileen Newton's article, "Preparing for the Big One: Emergency Preparedness for Nursing Leaders." The article describes the need for planning, drills, and community engagement, coordination, and collaboration.
2. How much does the role of nursing vary between natural disasters and civil unrest? Roberta Proffitt Lavin, Tener Goodwin Veenema, Wilma Calvert, Sheila Grigsby, and Jennifer Cobbina tackle this interesting question in "Nurse Leaders' Response to Civil Unrest in the Urban Core." They present 10 "musts" for preparedness for community civil unrest and describe the need for planning for the continued delivery of health services.
3. Authors Claire Millet and Demetrius Porche examine Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike (all in 2005) from 2 different perspectives in "Overburdened Systems and Dealing With Disaster: Nursing Administrators Experiences and Nursing Leadership Recommendations From a State-Level Perspective." They describe the experiences of nursing administrators and recommendations of nursing leaders from the perspectives of a governmental public health organization and a nursing school within an academic health sciences center. They offer practical suggestions and recommendations from a state-level perspective to help leaders and nurses prepare, respond, and recover during disaster situations.
As you review this issue's Table of Contents, you will see articles addressing a wide range of approaches to the challenges we face today in all-hazards preparedness and engaging the community. The approaches and recommendations in these articles offer a variety of ways to prepare a national nursing workforce to respond to disasters and public health emergencies in a timely and effective manner. The articles examine how today's nurse leaders can expand their knowledge, skills, and abilities in crisis management so that they are thoroughly prepared to respond to the next disaster, whenever and wherever it may occur.
-Donna Gage, PhD, RN, NE-BC
Principal
BMC Associates
Arlington, Virginia
-Mary Pat Couig, PhD, MPH, RN
Program Manger
US Department of Veterans Affairs
Washington, District of Columbia
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