Roll of nurses in bioterrorism

Following the events of September 11، 2001، the threat of another bioterrorism event has become a realistic concern for health care workers specially for nurses. Bioterrorism events caused by infectious agents will be challenging because nurses will need to recognize unfamiliar infections and work long hours with limited resources in stressful conditions. The purpose of this review is to compile the literature to date that will contribute to determine the variables that influence nurses working during a bioterrorism event. This is a review article that information is based on searching in the internet and published literature regarding to this issue. There are limitations in the research about variables that may influence nurses to work during a bioterrorism event. nurses'' response to working during a bioterrorism event is not well described. There are limited data available regarding the concerns and fears nurses have about their clinical role and working conditions during a bioterrorism event. Nurses will likely be expected to function in chaotic work environments and provide direct care to victims infected with unusual or genetically altered infectious microorganisms. The stress in these working conditions will be recognized by the nurses'' feelings of anxiety and fear for themselves and their families and give strategies to decrease them. Adequately training and preparing nurses for bioterrorism events is essential to optimize safe functioning and minimizing emotional and psychological trauma.