Addressing Emergency Preparedness and Response Competencies for Nurses through Simulation Experiences

The critical need for a competency-based curriculum for nurses in emergency planning and response has emerged. Though actual emergency situations do not present an appropriate milieu for competency-based education of our nation's nurses, simulations allow nurses to acquire and demonstrate competencies in settings that draw as near as possible to a realistic emergency.The International Nursing Coalition for Mass Casualty Education (INCMCE) developed a framework outlining those competencies best demonstrated during simulation activities. Several examples of low, moderate, and high-fidelity simulations are provided. The authors conclude no current simulation technique can completely replicate the enormously complex situations brought about during mass casualty and disaster events.