Letter to the Editor Seeking Participants for Study of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Responders Dear Editor: As we prepare for another hurricane season, the na- tion can’t help but look back at previous storms and their level of destruction. All of us remember Hurri- canes Katrina and Rita and the pictures of devastationd those of us not involved were glued to our television sets every evening. National response plans call for the establishment of alternative field medical facilities, staffed by volunteers, to treat thousands of vic- tims of large-scale events. Federal planners assume that trained and competent health care workers will volunteer to staff these facilities. At present, no systematic examination of the preparedness of health care providers and their response capabilities during a large-scale response has oc- curred. Few studies have addressed whether volunteers are prepared and competent to function in these roles. As a result, very little is known about what knowledge, skills, and abilities or professional competencies are needed or if these competencies change in each disaster phase. This information is crit- ical in designing effective national response plans and future training content. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were the first real tests of this alternative, nonhospital concept. To examine these events, I am conducting an anonymous study to examine the specific professional competencies of registered nurses and physicians that were important to these responses. The study, approved by the Uni- form Services University Institutional Review Board, is Web-based with an alternative downloadable ver- sion for persons with slow Internet connections or the need to be ‘‘on the go,’’ for which respondents will be reimbursed mailing costs. The study examines pre-event and post-event transitions as well as 2 specific competenciesdbasic clinical care and triaged and it can be completed in less than 1 hour. I am hoping that your readers will contribute to en- larging the body of science in disaster response and emergency preparedness by participating in the study. The study can be found at http://www.usuhs.mil/ disastersurvey. Thank you. CAPT Lynn A. Slepski, RN, MSN, PhD (c), CCNS Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences E-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1016/j.dmr.2007.09.003 Disaster Manage Response 2007;5:98. 1540-2487/$32.00 Published by Elsevier Inc. DMR 98 Disaster Management & Response/Letter to the Editor Volume 5, Number 4

Seeking Participants for Study of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Responders

Download PDF Report

Upload
lynn-a
View
213
Download
1

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Letter to the EditorDMR

Seeking Participants for Study of HurricanesKatrina and Rita Responders

Dear Editor:As we prepare for another hurricane season, the na-

tion can’t help but look back at previous storms andtheir level of destruction. All of us remember Hurri-canes Katrina and Rita and the pictures of devastationdthose of us not involved were glued to our televisionsets every evening. National response plans call forthe establishment of alternative field medical facili-ties, staffed by volunteers, to treat thousands of vic-tims of large-scale events. Federal planners assumethat trained and competent health care workers willvolunteer to staff these facilities.

At present, no systematic examination of the pre-paredness of health care providers and their responsecapabilities during a large-scale response has oc-curred. Few studies have addressed whether volun-teers are prepared and competent to function inthese roles. As a result, very little is known aboutwhat knowledge, skills, and abilities or professionalcompetencies are needed or if these competencieschange in each disaster phase. This information is crit-ical in designing effective national response plans andfuture training content.

Disaster Manage Response 2007;5:98.

1540-2487/$32.00

Published by Elsevier Inc.

98 Disaster Management & Response/Letter to the Editor

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were the first real testsof this alternative, nonhospital concept. To examinethese events, I am conducting an anonymous studyto examine the specific professional competencies ofregistered nurses and physicians that were importantto these responses. The study, approved by the Uni-form Services University Institutional Review Board,is Web-based with an alternative downloadable ver-sion for persons with slow Internet connections orthe need to be ‘‘on the go,’’ for which respondentswill be reimbursed mailing costs. The study examinespre-event and post-event transitions as well as 2 spe-cific competenciesdbasic clinical care and triagedand it can be completed in less than 1 hour.

I am hoping that your readers will contribute to en-larging the body of science in disaster response andemergency preparedness by participating in the study.The study can be found at http://www.usuhs.mil/disastersurvey. Thank you.

CAPT Lynn A. Slepski, RN, MSN, PhD (c), CCNSUniformed Services University of the Health SciencesE-mail: [email protected]

doi: 10.1016/j.dmr.2007.09.003

Volume 5, Number 4

http://www.usuhs.mil/disastersurvey