If you have ever considered volunteering your skills as a nurse to help victims of disasters, the time to prepare is now. Most nurses did not receive disaster preparedness training in nursing school, so there is a great need for programs to teach nurses about emergency preparedness response. One route for nurses to pursue this education is the National Nurse Emergency Preparedness Initiative's online course, "Nurses on the Front Line: Responding to Emergencies and Disasters."1 This highly interactive Web-based course is aimed at nurses in all inpatient and outpatient settings. The curriculum details the nurse's role and responsibilities during chemical, biological, radiologic, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) events. Going beyond awareness-level didactic content, participants practice clinical thinking skills and learn to triage, assess, and treat patients who were victims of a CBRNE event.

The course was developed in collaboration with George Washington University and is free for participants who do not require continuing education (CE) credit. A fee of $24.00 is charged to receive 6 hours of CE credit.

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