Exploration and development of standardized nursing leadership competencies during disasters

Abstract

Aim: A systematic literature review was conducted to explore research on the subject of nurse leadership competencies during disasters. Methods: A modified Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)search and review method was used, with pre-specified inclusion and exclusion criteria, definition of terms, and documentation of selection decisions, to retrieve articles published in the last 5 years that contained some or all of the desired search criteria. Articles were excluded if they were unrelated to leadership during disasters, or had solely an education-or clinical-care focus. Three reviewers performed the screening process. Results: Interrater reliability (0.81) was confirmed through two rounds of title review and two rounds of abstract review. Twenty-two articles from a total of 207 identified were deemed relevant from a search using PubMed, CINAL, Scopus, Embase and Web of Science. Conclusion: Results from the literature search were limited, and few articles were directly related to the specific search. Three articles that were reviewed addressed disaster competencies; no articles were found to focus on nursing or nursing leadership disaster competencies. This negative literature search revealed that more rigorous research on nurse leadership needs to be conducted and available, from then which a cohort of standardized competencies can be shaped to address future disaster management.

Call to Action: The Case for Advancing Disaster Nursing Education in the United States

“…The expert panel identified the critical call to action to prepare nurses in leadership positions (health systems administrators, executives, managers) for crisis conditions resulting from disasters and public health emergencies and proposed that core competencies be identified and validated specific to crisis leadership. Currently, disaster nursing leadership competencies are absent from the published literature (Veenema, Losinski, Newton, & Seal, ). While disaster nursing leadership is relatively new as a distinctive field, it was troubling that not a single article was identified in the published literature that addressed crisis nursing leadership competencies.…”

Attitude of Jordanian Nursing Educators Toward Integration of Disaster Management in Nursing Curricula

“…3 Nursing education plays a significant role in preparing nurses for a disaster because it helps in increasing their knowledge on disasters through research efforts and increasing the effectiveness of their response during a disaster. 13 Integration of disaster preparedness content into undergraduate nursing curricula prepares the ensuing generation of nurses for disaster events in the future. 14 Other studies indicated that, through collaborative partnerships with hospital authorities and educational institutions, specific courses could be undertaken to assist professional nurses to be better prepared for disasters.…”

Stepping in, Stepping up, and Stepping out: Competencies for Intensive Care Unit Nursing Leaders During Disasters, Emergencies, and Outbreaks

“…In addition to financial competence, nurse leaders must be strategic in their thinking, planning, and management specifically as it relates to disaster response and recovery. 1,2 Examples include development of a disaster preparedness plan, identification of an Incident Command Center, and provision of an effective staff training, including use of simulation. Disaster response plans are informed by environmental scans, stakeholder engagement, and competitor analyses to identify needs, strengths, opportunities, threats, and best practices (eg, staffing models during disasters).…”

“…Nurse leader competencies related to disaster preparedness are not well described, and leadership during disaster response and recovery has been discussed even less. 1 Veenema and colleagues 2 reported that institutional awareness of available resources, understanding of processes, and prior disaster experience increased leadership competence in managing disaster responses. To extend these findings and support development of education and training programs about disaster preparedness for nurse leaders in critical care, we describe a set of disaster preparedness competencies for nurse leaders that is informed by relevant literature, professional organization recommendations, and expert opinion.…”