How to Train School Nurses for Bioterrorism & Natural Disasters

Medical personnel of all kinds must maintain their skills and strive to stay up to date in preparedness training to meet a variety of contingencies, including natural disasters and bioterrorism. That includes school nurses, who are among first responders and, therefore, must consistently be trained in all the latest disaster and bioterrorism response techniques.

Instructions

• 1

  Start by checking out emergency preparedness training with the Emergency Medical Services for Children National Resource Center. The EMSC website provides a wide array of continuing emergency education subject material such as podcasts, webcasts and training modules, most of which are completely free.

• 2

  Check with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for classes and other educational resources available in your area. The CDC has a host of free online services material, including podcasts, online videos and other local service contact informational resources.

• 3

  Look into taking continuing education classes at any college or university offering nursing or science programs. Most local nursing programs offer classes in disaster preparedness and bioterrorism response. Most universities offer short 4- to 6-contact-hour EMS courses available with continuing education units at a very reasonable cost.

• 4

  Check local hospitals for mock disaster drills and continuing education programs that offer emergency disaster training. Local hospitals have programs and resources available at no cost, and some even come with first aid and volunteer disaster first-responder certifications.