A Framework for Public Health Nursing Emergency Preparedness Competencies

Preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters is a priority and a core function of public health that increasingly must be addressed in an environment of limited resources. Emergent events, including sudden mass casualty incidents, infectious disease outbreaks, or environmental disasters are occurring more frequently.  Responding to health threats from disasters challenges all those in the community.  Public health nurses (PHN) working in public health departments, play an important role in the response to disasters that affect communities.

The Riverside County Department of Public Health (RCDOPH) developed a training course to provide a comprehensive plan to prepare PHNs to respond to mass casualty events or acts of terrorism. The goals of the training course are to 1) Increase understanding of the PHN role in emergency response and increase willingness to respond in an emergency, and 2) Assess, evaluate, document and update the PHN workforce competence in emergency preparedness. The training course is offered to new hires and annually to existing staff and consists of competency overview and skills stations set up to provide opportunities for staff to practice and perform hands-on-skills.

The course was developed using PHN foundational principles to guide practice during emergencies.  The Quad Council of Public Health Nurses Organizations Tier 1 Core Competencies were used to identify line-staff PHNs as needing training for skills required for the delivery of Essential Public Health Services.

This session will share the steps in the development and evaluation of this innovative program designed to address Public Health Nursing workforce competencies.