Preparing Volunteer Nurses for Public Health Emergencies

Betsy Weiner, Ph.D., R.N., B.C., FAAN

Senior Associate Dean for Educational Informatics and

Professor in Nursing and Biomedical Informatics

School of Nursing

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Research Aims for AHRQ Grant

For Medical Reserves Corps (MRC) volunteer nurses, face to face vs. online learning will be compared To determine effectiveness To determine efficiency To define user characteristics that predict selection

and completion of learning programs To determine the adequacy of technology

integration in learning emergency response content

Volunteer and Inactive Nurses

Not currently working for responding organization

Desire to learn Responding through

local response structure via Medical Reserve Corps

Key Message to Nurses

Theme of all modules is surge capacity

Limitation of resources

Planning is essential Be part of the plan!

Value Shift: Triage

Most good for the greatest number of people

Critically ill patients are not always first; may be provided palliative care

First module: The Tipping Point

Unique Aspects

Competencies created by International Nursing Coalition for Mass Casualty Education (INCMCE)

Based on national “How People Learn” framework in conjunction with Little Planet Learning, Inc.

How People Learn

Students come with preconceptions Must have factual knowledge, but know

how to organize and retrieve Must take control of own learning Learning environments must be learner-

centered, knowledge-centered, assessment- centered, and community-centered

How People Learn Cycle

www.incmce.org