ANA Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation® Blog: Disaster Preparedness for Nurses – Part 1 of 3
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How to ensure you’re prepared at home and at work for natural disasters and emergencies
In today’s world, natural disasters and large-scale emergencies are not a matter of if, but when. During 2024, the United States experienced 27 weather disaster events with losses of more than a billion dollars each. Our country also experiences human-made emergencies including mass shootings, acts of terror, and hazardous material spills. These events cause long-term consequences for our physical, mental, and emotional health.
Disaster preparedness is critical for everyone in our society, especially for nurses. As responders, nurses face the unique challenge of balancing personal responsibilities and professional duties during crises.
“Nurses really have to look at preparedness from multiple points of view,” says Cheryl Peterson, MSN, RN, FADLN. Cheryl is the senior vice president of Nursing Programs at the American Nurses Association (ANA). “You have to be prepared from a personal and family perspective, so you know how to use your skills, knowledge, and ability for your community and your employer.”
Preparing Your Family and Household
According to Cheryl, the top priority for nurses is to make sure they have an emergency plan in place for their family. “When you know your family is taken care of, you can focus on your professional duties and care for the injured or sick in your community.”
Make a plan
The American Red Cross recommends creating a home emergency plan that takes into consideration:
Create a home emergency kit
Cheryl also recommends keeping a home emergency kit stocked with a minimum 3-day supply of:
“Be sure to check expiration dates at least once a year and replace items as necessary,” she says. Other key items to include would be batteries, battery-powered light sources, and blankets. The CDC offers helpful tips and guidance on building an emergency kit for your home.
Think about care needs
Finally, make plans for any family members who need special support or supervision in the event you need to leave to care for the sick or injured. Know who can help with childcare or elder care. Arrange for someone to take care of pets if necessary.
Once you have your family and household prepared for a disaster, you can turn your focus to the steps you’ll need to take if you’re needed at work.
Preparing to Work During a Disaster
To ensure you’re ready the moment you’re called upon to respond to a disaster, Cheryl recommends you keep a “go bag” packed and ready at all times.
“Your go bag should include basic toiletries, a few changes of clothes, medications, snacks, and other items you need if you have to be at work for a few days,” she says. “You can keep it in your closet, ready to grab and go. Some people keep their bags in the trunk of their car just in case they’re already at work when disaster strikes, and they have to hunker down.”
If you drive or take public transportation to work, anticipate detours or delays. Study alternate routes and communicate with team members who might need help finding transport. Ready.gov provides a Commuter Emergency Plan worksheet (PDF) to organize multiple routes between your home and work.
Workplace Disaster Preparedness
NursingEducation outlines a nurse’s vital role in pre-disaster planning and preparedness. Nurses can use their skills in communication and resource assessment to help ensure proper workplace disaster preparation.
According to Cheryl, most municipalities require health care facilities to have a response system in place.
“Nurses should know who makes the plans for a facility’s disaster response. And there should be at least one nurse on any response team helping to create those plans,” she says.
Every member of a health care organization should receive training on the protocols and know what to expect, and do, when disaster strikes, Cheryl says.
Outside of participating on an official disaster response team, Cheryl suggests nurses take leadership roles within their own units or teams. “Organize a lunch-and-learn to discuss how your team will respond to a specific scenario,” she says. “How will you protect yourselves? How will you protect your patients? What does your hospital or facility tell you to do in the event of an evacuation?”
Prepare to Care for One Another
Cheryl notes that one final key aspect of responding to a disaster is to take care of other responders. In the chaos of an emergency, it’s important to remember to look within your team and make sure everyone is OK, she says.
“Disasters are very stressful. As nurses, we need to care for each other as much as we care for patients,” she says. “This means monitoring your colleagues. Ask them how they’re doing. Offer to pick up their load for a while so they can rest and recharge. We can’t change the situation we’re in, but we can change how we care for each other.”
What are your best tips for nurses to prepare for disasters at home or at work? Share with us in the comments below.
Not a member of Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation (HNHN) yet? Join today!
Sign up for our monthly challenges!
Disaster preparedness is critical for everyone in our society, especially for nurses. As responders, nurses face the unique challenge of balancing personal responsibilities and professional duties during crises.
“Nurses really have to look at preparedness from multiple points of view,” says Cheryl Peterson, MSN, RN, FADLN. Cheryl is the senior vice president of Nursing Programs at the American Nurses Association (ANA). “You have to be prepared from a personal and family perspective, so you know how to use your skills, knowledge, and ability for your community and your employer.”
Preparing Your Family and Household
According to Cheryl, the top priority for nurses is to make sure they have an emergency plan in place for their family. “When you know your family is taken care of, you can focus on your professional duties and care for the injured or sick in your community.”
Make a plan
The American Red Cross recommends creating a home emergency plan that takes into consideration:
- Types of emergencies and disasters that may occur: List the types of disasters you are likely to encounter in your geographic area (like hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and earthquakes). Discuss with your household how you will prepare and respond, including sheltering in place or evacuating if necessary. Also consider your response to disasters that can happen anywhere, like explosions or chemical spills.
- What to do if you’re separated: Have a plan in case emergencies arise when members of your family are at home, school, work, or other places you spend time. Set a pre-arranged meeting place and ensure each family member has a list of emergency contacts (both in writing and saved on their phone).
- Practicing elements of the plan: Practicing steps of your plan like fire drills and evacuation routes helps everyone stay calm and safe when an emergency does occur.
Create a home emergency kit
Cheryl also recommends keeping a home emergency kit stocked with a minimum 3-day supply of:
- First-aid supplies
- Medications
- Nonperishable foods (peanut butter, canned tuna or chicken, canned fruits and vegetables)
- Water
“Be sure to check expiration dates at least once a year and replace items as necessary,” she says. Other key items to include would be batteries, battery-powered light sources, and blankets. The CDC offers helpful tips and guidance on building an emergency kit for your home.
Think about care needs
Finally, make plans for any family members who need special support or supervision in the event you need to leave to care for the sick or injured. Know who can help with childcare or elder care. Arrange for someone to take care of pets if necessary.
Once you have your family and household prepared for a disaster, you can turn your focus to the steps you’ll need to take if you’re needed at work.
Preparing to Work During a Disaster
To ensure you’re ready the moment you’re called upon to respond to a disaster, Cheryl recommends you keep a “go bag” packed and ready at all times.
“Your go bag should include basic toiletries, a few changes of clothes, medications, snacks, and other items you need if you have to be at work for a few days,” she says. “You can keep it in your closet, ready to grab and go. Some people keep their bags in the trunk of their car just in case they’re already at work when disaster strikes, and they have to hunker down.”
If you drive or take public transportation to work, anticipate detours or delays. Study alternate routes and communicate with team members who might need help finding transport. Ready.gov provides a Commuter Emergency Plan worksheet (PDF) to organize multiple routes between your home and work.
Workplace Disaster Preparedness
NursingEducation outlines a nurse’s vital role in pre-disaster planning and preparedness. Nurses can use their skills in communication and resource assessment to help ensure proper workplace disaster preparation.
According to Cheryl, most municipalities require health care facilities to have a response system in place.
“Nurses should know who makes the plans for a facility’s disaster response. And there should be at least one nurse on any response team helping to create those plans,” she says.
Every member of a health care organization should receive training on the protocols and know what to expect, and do, when disaster strikes, Cheryl says.
Outside of participating on an official disaster response team, Cheryl suggests nurses take leadership roles within their own units or teams. “Organize a lunch-and-learn to discuss how your team will respond to a specific scenario,” she says. “How will you protect yourselves? How will you protect your patients? What does your hospital or facility tell you to do in the event of an evacuation?”
Prepare to Care for One Another
Cheryl notes that one final key aspect of responding to a disaster is to take care of other responders. In the chaos of an emergency, it’s important to remember to look within your team and make sure everyone is OK, she says.
“Disasters are very stressful. As nurses, we need to care for each other as much as we care for patients,” she says. “This means monitoring your colleagues. Ask them how they’re doing. Offer to pick up their load for a while so they can rest and recharge. We can’t change the situation we’re in, but we can change how we care for each other.”
What are your best tips for nurses to prepare for disasters at home or at work? Share with us in the comments below.
Not a member of Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation (HNHN) yet? Join today!
Sign up for our monthly challenges!
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03/04/2025 3:30pm CST
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