Evaluating nurses’ preparedness in critical incidents

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the preparedness and training of Canadian nurses in critical incidents.Methods: Design: An observational cross-sectional survey through a self-administered web-based questionnaire. Setting: The questionnaire was shared with nurses working in emergency departments, intensive care units, and coronary care units at five hospitals affiliated with McGill University in Montreal (Quebec, Canada). Participants: In total, 145 nurses completed the questionnaire. It was sent through email to nurse managers and assistant nurse managers working in the emergency department, adult intensive care unit, and cardiac care unit at four academic hospitals. Main Outcome Measured: level of preparedness and skills of nurses to deal with critical incidents.Results: Most nurses have not participated in a disaster management (code orange) simulation (64.8%, n = 94). Moreover, around half of them knew their specific role in such a simulation (49.6%, n = 72). The vast majority of participants (78.6%, n = 114) never took part in a real code orange scenario. On multiple logistic regression, having > 10 years of experience in nursing, having > 10 years of experience in critical care, participating in a code orange simulation, knowledge of roles and responsibilities during a code orange situation, and having knowledge of the department's code orange plan, were significantly associated with a higher level of preparedness.Conclusions: This study shows a lack of nurses’ preparedness in dealing with critical incidents based on their self-assessment. Confidence and knowledge of skills associated with BLS and ACLS were noted to be essential for a high level of preparedness.