Effect of operational exercises on nurses’ competence in dealing with disaster

It is necessary to assess the level of preparedness to reduce the side effects of disasters, so regarding to the role of nurses in responding to the disasters, this is of particular importance. Holding a maneuver and exercises is one of the ways to increase the level of capability and assess the level of readiness, so the aim of the current study was to investigate the impact of the implementation of the operational exercises program on the competency of nurses in disaster response in 2020.

The present study is a quasi‑experimental study in two groups, in which seventy nurses of hospitals affiliated to Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences were selected by census and randomly divided into two groups. Before the intervention, a native questionnaire to assess the competence of nurses in the disaster response was completed. Then, the empowerment program including educational workshop, tabletop, and operational maneuvers were performed. Immediately and 3 months after the intervention, the questionnaires for both groups were completed, and the data were analyzed using SPSS 21 through descriptive‑analytical statistical tests.

The results showed that the mean score of nurses’ competence in all domains of management, ethics, personal, team work, and technical immediately and 3 months after the intervention in the intervention group increased significantly (P = 0.001), while in the control group, these changes were not significant (P > 0.05).

According to the results of a recent study, the implementation of the empowerment program and the implementation of maneuvers as a part of the process of preparing nurses to deal with disasters have been effective. Therefore, it is suggested to use periodic maneuvers in in‑service training programs to improve the level of competence of nurses.